Under Her Spell - Book Three - Edward Masen in: The Animal in Us
by Bubbleybear
Summary: Our return to Hogwarts was being clouded by the first prisoner ever to escape from Azkaban. Now, for our safety, Hogwarts was being guarded by some of the foulest, darkest creatures to ever exist: Dementors. What could possibly go wrong?
1. Prelude

**Under Her Spell**

 **Book Three**

 **Edward Masen in The Animal In Us**

 _Written by Bubbleybear, Cleaned up by Pienuniek, Beta'd by Sally Hopkinson_

 **Prelude**

 _I felt the familiar rush as I dropped into another of Isa's precognitive dreams. It seemed that with the start of a new school year would come a new dream we had to pay attention to._

 _I landed in a room that was dark and covered with dust. I could hear the wind howling around the shabby building and through the many holes I could see in the walls. The room I was in, at one point, looked to have been a family room. The furniture, though, was in no way usable. It was shabby to the point of falling apart._

 _This building hadn't been used in quite some time._

 _I was distracted from my perusal by the sound of squeaking, then a growl, from what sounded like a large dog. What startled me, though, was that it sounded like it was coming from below me. I tracked the sounds before picking up the movement of feet. I figured out the direction they were heading, so I spun, only to find myself facing a trap door._

 _I only had to wait a second before the source of the squeaking became clear: a large brown garden rat, one that seemed familiar, bounded out of the trap door and scooted up the stairs nearby. It was closely followed by a large, black, mangy dog. This one was Sirius. He was growling and trying to catch the rat even as it managed to get a head start on him._

 _I was about to follow when I picked up the sound of more feet coming up from underneath me. These were different from what the dog's had been; the sound was muted like they were lighter, or more padded, than Sirius's, so I froze, waiting to see who or what these feet could possibly belong to. But it wasn't just the animals' feet I heard; there were also several people following it. It was confusing._

 _A few seconds later, a large white cat slinked out of the trap door. It was really stunning. It was the size of a tiger but had the markings of a snow leopard. What was it doing here in Europe?_

 _It, too, flew up the stairs after the dog and rat before being followed by another smaller snow leopard and then by none other than Hermione and Harry. Where the hell were Isa and I?_

Before those questions could be answered, I was pulled back out of Isa's dream and into the real world because Isa had woken up.

"Where was that?" she said.

"Where was I?" we asked at the same time.

Isa flopped back down onto the bed. "Here we go again …"


	2. Chapter One - Summer Part I

**I want to thank you all for coming along on this journey with me, yet again. I can't explain to all of you, what it means to me, that you continue to come back and read what I have written.**

 **Now though we are getting into the darker side of Harry Potter World. Things start taking an interesting turn in this story, and I really can't wait to hear what you all think.**

 **Now, though, I want to thank those, without whom, this story never would be as pretty as it is. Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson, I wouldn't be here if not for the two of you. Thanks doesn't seem big enough some days.**

 **Harry Potter & Twilight belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended.**

 **I'll let you get on with it.**

* * *

 **Chapter One – Summer – Part I**

Summer holidays usually meant one of two things in the Cullen household, no school and lots of mischief. Well, that and plenty of fun. Where kids could be kids and teenagers could be teenagers, but what it didn't usually have was preparing for something that may not be coming for quite some time.

After the last two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, facing one of the darkest wizards of all time, we had decided that we needed to be informed; and if that meant learning and studying during our down time, that's what we were prepared to do.

We'd spent the first few days showing our friends how much we knew and also found out in which areas they could teach us. Although that wasn't just a standard point your wand and say the spell. Nooo, they'd thrown us in the deep end and created a backyard-sized dueling match, but it had helped; and we'd shown not only them, but each other, exactly what we were capable of.

Some of us needed that more than others. Well, okay, I, the overprotective vampire, needed to see that his perfectly immortal Veela mate could handle anything thrown at her, and then some, before I'd stop throwing myself in front of her, even if it was to my own detriment.

We were taking a few days to review every spell we'd been reading up on before getting back out in the backyard to practice them all. We were also trying to get everyone together to talk about what had happened during the last school year; the problem we had was getting in contact with Draco, Narcissa, and Neville. For some reason, the letters we sent to Draco came back with the owls. I couldn't understand why we hadn't heard from Neville, though, because those letters were being delivered.

That concerned me. If I couldn't reach Draco, and I hadn't heard from Neville soon, I was going to ask the house elves Dobby and Kreacher if they could help. Thinking of Dobby made me smile; he'd slotted in well at Hogwarts, but he wanted something more for the summer, so Harry, Sirius, and James had taken him home with them.

Although I'm not sure what good that did, considering they'd spent just about every bit of free time at Swan Manor. They'd felt that they'd done Harry a disservice. Yes, they'd hidden him from Voldemort, but they'd also hidden him from learning some of the things he'd need to protect himself if, or rather, when, the so-called Dark Lord rose to power once again. So, in training Harry, they were training us as well, something I was ever so grateful for.

I had read everything that Sirius, James, and Lupin had given us or pointed us to, so I was giving Harry, Hermione, and Isa a chance to catch up before discussing with them by reading the Daily Prophet.

"What are you smirking about over there, Teddy?"

"The Daily Prophet is running a series of really interesting articles over the next few weeks, focusing on the downtrodden luck of a publishing house that put all their eggs into one big, fat, lying basket. And oh, look at that, there's also an article about someone who had finally gotten some precious memories back after losing them nearly fifty years ago."

"You mean they're actually telling the truth?" Sirius asked as he walked in the front door. "That sure makes a change."

Lupin took a seat on one of the open lounges. "That _does_ make a change." He noticed the confused looks on all of our faces. "The Daily Prophet is owned and run by the Ministry. And it posts what the ministry wants us to read; it's not often it tells the truth."

I snorted. "That might be because it's gossip." I lifted the Daily Prophet back up to continue reading. "This reads more like what we refer to as rags in the muggle world. All they print is gossip, whether it be good or bad, right or wrong. They don't care that they could cause a marriage to collapse or send someone into a tailspin so bad they might never get out of it. And this layout, could it get any more confusing?"

 _I wish we had a paper that would tell just the truth. Somewhere honest people could go to get the news, or even have their own magazines, papers, or books printed. That could be fun …_ I heard James lament from his spot across the room. He'd stayed close to explain or demonstrate things that weren't very clear in the books we were reading. One could consider what we were doing homework, but we didn't see it that way. We wanted to be prepared, and the only way to do that was to learn all that we could.

I folded the top of the paper down, looking at him. He'd given me the beginnings of an idea; I wondered whether we could pull it off.

 _What?_

I shook my head. "Nothing, James." But I put the paper down and made my way upstairs.

"Where are you going, Teddy?"

"Nowhere, Isa. Finish your reading! I'll be back in a few minutes." When I got to our suite, I pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote to the same department Alice had been in contact with when she'd bought her shop.

 _To whom it may concern,_

 _I would like to register an interest in purchasing the publishing house that has recently gone out of business. Could you please forward any and all documents, including blueprints and lists of equipment, to Swan Manor, in care of Edward Masen._

 _Regards,_

 _Edward Masen_

Once done, I strode over to the window where Athan had been patiently waiting. "Take this to the Ministry of Magic please, Athan. I'll have a big treat when you get back."

 _Thank you, Edward. I'll be back in a while._

Once Athan had left, I walked back down to the bottom floor, overhearing the discussion about defensive spells that had started without me. Or more accurately, whether Isa's shield could be used to deflect spells coming at her.

"I don't know if it works like that," she hummed. "But it's not just that; if it worked, I'd have to constantly put it up and take it down to cast my own. Because if I can stop others from getting to me, surely mine wouldn't be able to get through either."

"That's something we're going to have to look into," Remus thought out loud. "Ah, Edward, any luck getting through to the others you wanted here?"

"Not yet, but I'm hoping to by the time the Weasleys get back from Egypt. How long will they be gone?"

"Oh, for another week or so. Did you see how happy they all were on the front page of the Prophet?"

"All except for Ron," Harry mumbled. "Do you think he'll ever be nice again?"

"I don't know, Harry." I sat back in the chair I had been in previously. "I've seen that type of behavior many times over the years in all the schools I had been to. People can change, but it usually takes something big to make them realize what an ass they've become."

"Too right," Sirius cheered, but I caught the look that Remus gave both Sirius and James. There was a story there, and perhaps they'd have to tell us one day. "Well, since we can't talk about the spells with the others yet, what have you guys read, or wanted to ask about?" Sirius continued as if he didn't see the look thrown at him.

For the next few hours, we discussed what spells we'd been reading about. There were all sorts of ways to interpret a spell, and sometimes, the way you said or did an action could turn a defensive spell into an offensive one. That was a scary thought because, regardless of the war that would be coming our way, I really didn't want to hurt anyone.

After a while, Remus and I made our way into the library next to Charlie's potions room. He had agreed to work with me over the summer on not only his potion, but in preparing a better way to become an animagus. The worst part about that particular process, at the moment, was having to keep a big leaf in your mouth for a month. There was no way around that, but surely, we could make it a little less obvious that's what we were doing.

Isa didn't want to register if we succeeded in becoming animagi. She didn't want to give the ministry a way to track us, and I couldn't say I blamed her. From all the stories we had heard about the ministry, I wasn't sure I wanted to give them any way to control us.

"Have you thought about how to make the spell stronger, Edward? I'm not sure the standard animagus spell will work for you or Bella."

"No, I hadn't thought that far ahead, yet. Although, really, that's something we should work on as well because, as soon as I figure out this leaf thing, I want to try doing it. And I know Isa will as well."

"Then let's get working on both of them."

Remus and I were elbow deep in arranging and rearranging notes and ingredients, trying to work out what to do with the leaf and to make the spell stronger, that I almost missed Carlisle's thoughts when he came home through the fireplace. But it wasn't his thoughts that caught my attention; it was the face of one of my friends—in his thoughts—that made me jerk up.

"Carlisle," I called, bringing him to the library. "Why were you thinking about Neville?"

"Is that who this is?" Carlisle showed me his face again.

"Yeah, where's he been? I've been trying to get in contact with him since we came home for the summer holidays."

"He's been in the hospital every day, sitting in between two catatonic patients. I hadn't even thought to ask why; although, I'm now regretting that."

"What's wrong with Neville?" Isa asked running into the library. "Why is he in the hospital? We have to go see him, Teddy. I want to make sure he's okay!"

I pulled her onto my lap, rubbing her back and placing a kiss on her head trying to calm her down. "We can't go now, sweetheart; he's not there at the moment."

"These people he sits between, are they older than he is? One taller, one shorter, male and female?" James asked from the doorway where he and Sirius were standing.

"Yes," Carlisle answered. "Although I haven't gotten a decent look at them because they're in a ward I don't look after."

"I'm sure they are." James nodded before making his way to a chair in the library. "Neville's parents were part of what we called 'The Order of the Phoenix.' We were a group of people who were fighting against Voldemort's reign the last time. In fact, they were pregnant at the same time Lily and I were." James sighed.

"The boys' birthdays are only a day apart. And it's also part of the reason Neville is known as the Chosen One."

It seemed everyone who was home had been listening to the conversation because the library was flooded with bodies. But before James could continue, I interrupted.

"I think, before this conversation happens, that Neville should be here to hear it. He's often wondered about the reason why he was called that because he's never felt it, not once. And if Neville's going to hear it, so should everyone else. Well, at least the twins, Ginny, and the other person I have in mind."

James nodded. "You're right. It's part of a much larger picture, and if we're sharing then they need to know everything."

"So what do we do about Neville, then?" Isa asked from my lap. "He's obviously not getting our owls, and we need him here."

I looked over at Carlisle as a thought popped into his head. "Really? You think that's the best way?"

"I do."

I looked down at Isa. "It seems we're going to work with Dad tomorrow, sweetheart, and bringing Neville here."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan."

~*~UHS~*~

The next morning, Isa and I were ready to go before Carlisle had even come into the kitchen for his morning coffee. Despite the fact that we could eat normal meals, Carlisle had adopted the terrible morning habit of not eating breakfast. Well, as far as we knew anyway, he could be eating at St Mungo's.

Carlisle chuckled when he sat down at the table with his coffee. "You do realize he's not usually there until after eight, right?" He looked pointedly at the clock, showing that it was just six in the morning.

"We know, Daddy. But I'm excited to see where you work, too." Isa could melt Carlisle like no other. The minute she called him "daddy," he gave in to her. But I also knew that, should she need it, he'd also be the disciplinarian she needed. Still, it was funny to watch.

Not that Hermione didn't do the same; it was just a little more obvious with Isa.

"I'm happy I can share it with you, and Edward, of course."

"Of course." I snorted.

We sat and chatted while Carlisle finished his coffee before we met him in the family room after he collected his doctor's bag. It was something he'd gotten used to having with him in the muggle world, and it had stuck, even though he didn't need it anymore. As far as his thoughts were concerned, it still made people around him comfortable, more doctor than vampire. I didn't think it made any difference, but it would be interesting to find out.

"Will you be all right waiting for me on the other side with Dad, Isa?"

"Um …" She looked up at me all wide-eyed and nervous.

"Go on through, Edward," Esme called from the doorway. "I'll wait with her until it's her turn."

I kissed Esme's cheek when she came and stood next to me. "Thank you, Mom." I didn't say anything to her gasp, just leaned down to kiss Isa on the head as Carlisle stepped into the fireplace. "See you on the other side, baby girl."

Stepping into the fireplace, I grabbed a handful of floo powder before throwing it and calling out, "St Mungo's!"

By the time Isa made it through the fireplace, Carlisle had already gone to his office, so we made our way there. Once he was ready, he showed us around the hospital.

Carlisle explained how St. Mungo's was different than a muggle hospital. There weren't wards such as emergency or maternity, but others dealt with all aspects of magical maladies. I supposed that was where the name St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries came from. But it did make me wonder what happened with pregnant witches. Did they have midwives or the like?

"It was founded by a famous healer by the name of Mungo Bonham in the 1600s, and it serves the entire wizarding population of Great Britain," Carlisle continued as we made our way down to the ground floor. "This is the reception area and Artefact Accidents floor—basically an emergency department for all the minor infractions."

"Like what?"

"Oh, you know, cauldron explosions, wands backfiring, and broom crashes. It's amazing the types of accidents people can get themselves into."

Carlisle took us to the entrance from the street, which consisted of a door similar to what we step through at King's Cross Station.

"Why is it here inside this abandoned department store and not, say, in Diagon Alley?" Isa asked the obvious question.

"They couldn't locate a building large enough there, and while they thought about putting it underground, they essentially thought it was too dirty."

We both nodded at his explanation before he led us to a set of stairs off to the side of the reception desk. Instead of going into each ward, we peeked through the window in the doors. It saved us traipsing unknown germs where people could get sicker from them.

The second floor held the ward that was dedicated to Creature Induced injuries. It was where someone came if they were bitten or burnt by something that could hurt them, you know, say a dragon. The third floor's ward was all about Magical Bugs and Diseases. Carlisle explained that there was a serious case of Dragon Pox going around, and the last thing he wanted was for Isa or Hermione to catch it. The fourth floor was all about Potions and Plant Poisoning, anything from rashes to regurgitation to uncontrollable giggling. In fact, we could hear someone hysterically laughing from right there in the stairwell.

"The sixth floor is where you can go to buy gifts for residents in the hospital. It also has a tearoom if you need a break from everything going on around you here in the hospital, but it's the fifth floor that you've come here for today," Carlisle explained. "On the fifth floor is where the people who have been seriously hurt by Spell Damage are kept. They're long-term residents, probably never to leave the hospital again unless there's some sort of miracle."

"This is where Neville's been?" Isa asked quietly, looking in the door.

Carlisle nodded. "I see him on my breaks, or when I come up to talk to a family member in the tearoom. His parents are lying down the left side, about halfway along. They're in a dual-curtained room. Just be aware, your professor from last year is in here, and he's quite noisy."

"Thanks, Dad. We'll see you at home later?"

Carlisle nodded again before turning and going back down the stairs. He worked mostly on the first floor but sometimes helped out in other departments.

"Ready, Isa?"

"Ready."

I opened the door quietly so as not to disturb the patients—or capture Lockhart's attention—and let Isa through before following. She held onto my hand while we made our way past some of the comatose.

 _This is so sad. There's no hope for these people?_

"From what Dad said. But who knows for the future, plus Dad hasn't been in here yet, so who knows what he could figure out."

 _Maybe we can make something that will help. Between the inventions I plan to make, and the potions you plan to develop, who knows?_

"Exactly, sweetheart. I plan to at least read Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom's paperwork to see what we're working with."

We were quiet for the rest of our walk down the ward. The nurses smiled sad little smiles at us as we passed before continuing on with their work. But it was the scene that we walked up on that even had my heart giving a lurch because there was Neville, hunched over, head in his hands, and trying to be as small as possible. I don't think I'd seen anyone in so much pain before, not even Rosalie or James.

And that was saying something.

"Oh, Neville," Isa couldn't help but whisper and fling herself at our friend. "What's going on? Why are you here? We've been trying to reach you!"

Neville was surprised at first, that was for sure, but it seemed he couldn't help but break down when Isa wrapped her arms around him. It took him a little while, but eventually, he sniffled and pulled back. "What are you guys doing here?"

I put down the chart for Alice Longbottom before moving over to look at her husband Frank's. I wanted to recreate them later for Carlisle to look at. Just because they'd tried everything magical to help them didn't mean there wasn't something muggle, or even vampire, that we could do.

"We've been trying to contact you since we left school to invite you to our place, but even though the owls delivered the letters, we never received one in return," I whispered. "We were just about to send our house elf out to find you when Carlisle came home thinking about you yesterday. What's going on?"

"These are my parents," Neville whispered, looking at us to make sure we followed. Isa had sat down on the seat next to Neville and was holding his hand in a consoling gesture. "I'm not sure of the entire story, only that they were attacked and have been here ever since."

"That I follow, but why are you here? And every day if what I'm hearing is correct." I tapped my temple with meaning.

Neville looked down, steeling himself. Before he started speaking, he took in a deep breath. "I live with my grandmother. But she's not very proud of me. So every day before she goes off to do whatever she does, she leaves me here, sitting with parents whom I can never really get to know."

 _Why do we all have sad stories when it comes to our parents?_ Isa lamented but shook her head when I went to answer her. "Well, Neville, we've come to rescue you. What time does your grandmother come back to get you?"

"What do you mean, rescue me?"

Isa smiled—not one of her bright sunny day ones; no, this one was softer, full of understanding that this was just a bit overwhelming. "Instead of sitting here in this hospital, all depressed and getting worn out, we've come to take you home with us. You can spend your days with us at Swan Manor, and we'll have you back in time for your grandma to pick you up. She won't have any idea, and the best part"—she leaned in closer to him to whisper, making me smile—"we have a spy here in the hospital, so if she comes back any earlier, they can let us know and keep her distracted."

"I don't have to stay here? Every day? I can come to your house, every day?"

"Every day, Neville. Carlisle will come and get you when he starts his rounds. You never have to sit here ever again if you don't want to," I confirmed. "What do you say?"

Neville slumped in his chair; actually it looked like he might melt right out of it. "Oh, thank Merlin. You have no idea how good that sounds. Can we leave now?"

Isa and I burst out into quiet laughter. "Sure, Neville. Let's get going."

After Neville collected his belongings, we made our way back down to the reception area, introducing Neville to Carlisle on the way. Neville was much calmer by the time we got to the fireplaces.

Just as I was about to explain to Neville about me needing to go first and him and Isa waiting, Carlisle came from the Accidental Artefacts department.

"Leaving now?" We nodded to Carlisle's question. "I'll wait here with the younger ones, Edward; you go on through first."

"Thanks, Dad," I replied, stepping into the fireplace. "See you at home, guys. Swan Manor."

I was home in a flare of green flames.

~*~UHS~*~

A few days later, after Neville had stopped tiptoeing around everyone and relaxed a little, I still couldn't get hold of Draco. The Weasleys were due back in a couple days, and we didn't want to waste time. We only had eight weeks of summer left, so things needed to be talked about.

Instead of wasting more time waiting, I made my way down to the kitchen where Kreacher was working on lunch.

"Kreacher, can you do a favor for me, please?"

"Certainly, Master Edward."

"I need you to find a way into Malfoy Manor and deliver this letter to Draco, but you need to be able to do it without being seen."

Kreacher frowned, taking the envelope from my hand. "Kreacher has heard many bad things about the Malfoy family, sir. What could you need them for?"

"I'm sure you have, being in the kitchens, but you also know that Draco contacted us last summer. Don't you remember what that was about?"

"Kreacher does. Do you trust them still?"

"I do. If you need help getting in, contact Dobby over at Sirius's house; he can help you."

Kreacher bowed. "Certainly, Master Edward. Do you want Kreacher to wait for a response?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "If you can without getting caught, then yes, please. I need to know an answer."

"What about lunch?"

"Never mind that, Kreacher dear. I can handle the rest," Esme said as she sauntered in. "And Edward can help me after he looks through the package that's just been dropped off on the dining table."

We both thanked Esme before Kreacher apparated out of the kitchen with a click of his fingers. "I'll be right back, Mom. I'm sure it won't take long."

"I'm sure I'll be finished before you are." She gave me her patented mom smile while I left the room a little confused. That was until I saw what was on the table. My request of the ministry had finally come through, and they'd delivered everything pertaining to the publishing house. I sat down to go through it like Carlisle did with the Longbottom's medical records I'd recreated the other day.

I spent the remainder of the time until lunch pouring over the papers and blueprints. Things looked to be well in hand, but I wanted to make sure there were no further spells or potions on any of the equipment before I moved forward with a sale. Merlin knew we didn't need any more incidents like with Lockhart.

"Edward, be a dear, pack up and call the others down for lunch please?"

I looked up, a little surprised that I didn't hear Esme enter, only to realize she was talking to me from the kitchen. "Of course, Mom."

We were about halfway through when I heard the familiar pop that meant Kreacher had returned. His thoughts were a little disorientated, which was a first for him. So much so that I couldn't make heads or tails of them.

"Excuse me, everyone. I'll be right back." I nodded to Isa because she'd heard his return, and she wanted to know what was going on. She wasn't going to follow me, but she wanted answers as soon as possible. Walking into the kitchen, I found a panting Kreacher bent over, holding his knees. "Kreacher, are you okay?" I rushed to his side.

"Kreacher is, Master Edward. Kreacher had to run to and from Malfoy Manor because I didn't know how their protection was done. I didn't want to set off a caterwauling charm."

"That doesn't cause this though," I murmured as I knelt beside our house elf, giving him a hand to stand tall. "Take deep breaths and relax before telling me the rest."

"Kreacher managed to find a way around the spells that also work on creatures without being seen, but after waiting for Sir Draco to give me a reply," Kreacher reached into his uniform and pulled out a letter with my name scrawled on the outside, "there were more death eaters coming around the house. Kreacher had to run through the yard to a place where they couldn't see or hear me to be able to get home. Kreacher was almost seen!"

"Ah, then this is adrenaline," I said relieved. After making sure Kreacher was standing on his own, I was able to stand and get him a glass of water. "Here, drink this; you'll feel better."

"Thank you, Master Edward."

"You're welcome, and thank you for getting this." I waved the letter around. "Now, Isa is telling me that you have to go and rest for the afternoon. We'll take care of ourselves for dinner." I could hear Isa giggle in the dining room.

Kreacher bowed slightly to me then slowly made his way down the hall to his room. If I had to hazard a guess, he was going to drop into a deep sleep the minute his head hit the pillow. After I heard the door close, I looked down at the messy scrawl of Draco and realized he'd written this in a hurry. I hoped things were going okay there, but I wasn't holding my breath.

Carefully, I ripped the envelope open.

 _Edward,_

 _Mother and I thank you for your letter. Things are … no better and no worse, I suppose. Well, that was, of course, after things went bad at the end of the last school year. It almost seems he's avoiding us some days, yet we are never alone._

 _That's not your problem, however; please do not feel guilty._

 _In regard to your request, it seems we'll be left alone on Monday, for the most part, and will be able to get away. He has something on at the ministry and will be gone for most of the day. Mother and I can get away then._

 _See you around ten._

 _Draco._

I slumped back against the island in the middle of the kitchen, relieved that my new friend was okay—well as okay as one could get in an abusive household—and that he was going to be here in a few short days, so I could see that with my own two eyes. Although, I had a feeling both of them would have a few more bruises than the last time.

 _Is everything okay, Teddy? Are they coming?_

"They'll be here, Isa. On Monday."

"Good. Do you think we should warn the ones not already in the loop?" _Like, say, Sirius? He's not going to be happy to see his cousin in such a state._

I lifted my girl up and placed her on the island next to me. I leaned over to kiss her cheek while I thought about her question. "As much as I want to warn them, I think the element of surprise will be needed."

 _Especially when it comes to Fred and George; they aren't going to like that Draco is here. Their reaction last year was very telling._

"That it was. Now, though, I think Saffy needs to take a letter to Sirius, James, and Lupin, letting them know everything will start on Monday." At the mention of her name, the little blue owl, who had grown just a little, flew in through the window we'd installed for the owls. I wrote down when they all had to be here and handed it over. "Thank you, Saffy. Isa will give you a treat when you get back."

 _Thanks, Edward. Back soon!_

"She's really come a long way, baby girl. You and Hermione have done wonders for her."

Isa beamed. "Athan has helped too. He's let her grow but pushed her when needed."

"He has. Now, let's go play some games with Hermione and Neville before he has to go back to the hospital."

"Okay!"

~*~UHS~*~

At nine-fifty Monday morning, everyone who had known about the meeting, including Neville, the twins, and Ginny, were congregated in our family room. Those of our family who weren't working—Esme, Emmett, and Jasper—were also present, wanting to know what was going on. The only ones we were waiting on were Draco and Narcissa, but Hermione was the only other one who knew. She was skeptical about what was going to happen but was hoping for the best.

"Is everyone here, Edward?" Sirius asked as he stood from his chair.

"No. We're waiting on two …" There was a distinctive pop from outside, and Draco's thoughts filtered into my mind, letting me know he was here. "And they've just gotten here. Isa, will you go let our guests in?"

The room was quiet, everybody watching with barely concealed interest at what was going on.

James was suspicious; it was like he could sense that something was coming. "Who is it? Who are we waiting on?"

"Just wait," I begged. "It might not be clear why at first, but if you let us explain …"

 _Oh, Teddy. We aren't going to need to._ The picture Isa was showing me wasn't pretty. It seemed that things were worse than Draco had let on. _I think this will keep them quiet, even Fred and George._

"Please, everyone, sit. They'll be here in a second." Isa led Draco and Narcissa into the room, holding Narcissa's hand, while Draco had offered his arm to his mother. But the shock wasn't only going to be for our friend but for Narcissa too.

There were gasps from all around the room; the stunned silence said more than any shouting could have done. Just about everyone was silent in thought too.

Only Sirius seemed to have a reaction, although quiet. _Dear Merlin, what has he done to Cissy?_ He didn't say anything before he shot over to Narcissa and Draco, taking Isa's place helping Narcissa into the room.

What Isa had shown me was worse in person. Both of them were covered in bruises, some older and fading, others darker and more recent. I wondered how often both of them used a spell to cover them up. Narcissa also seemed to be walking with a slight limp. Carlisle was going to want to check them over, something I think we're going to have to call him home from the hospital for.

 _Oh, dear God,_ Jasper thought. _The emotions coming from those two. Betrayal, anger, sadness, even some depression._ He then looked to me. _Want me to send a message to Carlisle._

I nodded ever so slightly to Jasper's question, not enough to be picked up if you weren't looking for it. Jasper left the room to do that while Esme gasped before running off to get a couple chairs.

"Kreacher, can you fetch some tea for our new guests, please?" Isa called quietly.

"Cissy, what's happened? We lost contact so quickly," Sirius stuttered, helping her to sit in a chair then kneeling next to her, Draco taking the other chair.

Narcissa sniffled before looking at me. _You couldn't tell me this last year? Where has he been?_ Before she turned back to Sirius. "Daddy married me to a monster, Sirius. He took control the minute the ink was dry, control of everything. I lost contact with everyone. But I thought you were dead. Where have you been?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but before we start that, let's introduce everyone." I waved my hand to indicate all those now in the room. "I'll point as I go. Starting over here next to Isa is Hermione. And going around the room we have Ginny Weasley." That name pulled a gasp from Narcissa; she'd obviously heard the story from Draco. "Then her older brothers, Fred and George." Who were still strangely quiet. All I knew was that while they knew things like this happened, they'd never had it quite so in their faces before. "Next to them is Neville Longbottom. Standing by the fireplace is Esme, our mother, and Jasper and Emmett, our brothers. And over on the other couch is Harry Potter, his father James, and Remus Lupin.

"Everyone, this is Draco and Narcissa Malfoy."

"It's so good to see you again, Sirius. Meet my son Draco." They both reached over Narcissa to shake hands but knew it wasn't a good time to get to know each other. "What happened that night?"

Sirius stood with a sigh. "This is going to answer questions, not only for you, Cissy, but Neville as well."

"What do you mean Neville?" Fred finally asked. "What does Neville have to do with anything?"

James snorted. "Haven't you ever wondered why Neville has been known as the Chosen One all these years?"

"I have," Neville piped up. It was out of his control; he hadn't meant to say anything.

"Then we're going to answer that, as best we can, anyway." James leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "When Voldemort rose to power, we—as in all of us and Neville's parents and others—formed a group called the Order of the Phoenix. It was for those of us who wanted to fight against him, to have trusted, like-minded people. It didn't matter who you were, once Voldemort chose to kill someone, they ended up dead one way or another.

"Voldemort learned of a prophecy that spoke about his demise and decided to kill the person who was to instigate it. But all they had was a vague idea. _'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.',"_ James recited like he'd listened to or repeated it to himself over and over again.

"With Neville and Harry both being born at the end of July," Sirius continued, "Voldemort decided the best thing to do would be to kill them both. If neither of them survived then neither of them would be able to defeat him further on down the line. From what we learned, Bellatrix, Rabastan, and Rodolphus Lestrange plus Barty Crouch Junior were sent after Neville and his parents while Voldemort went directly after James, Lily, and Harry."

Remus took up the mantle next. "The reason Neville ended up being called the Chosen One was for two very different reasons. The first being that Harry was presumed dead and the second was because"—here he sighed—"because your grandmother, Neville, told any and every one who would listen that Voldemort disappeared because of you. The wizarding world needed a hero, and you were the last one standing. It really is as simple as that."

 _Oh, Merlin. And now she resents me because I'm not living up to the tales she's told about me._ Neville was upset, resigned, and more than a little angry. Although, there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

"But weren't you all in hiding?" Narcissa asked, looking around. "There were rumors flying all over the place back then."

"They were, which meant we had a mole in the group. There were only twenty-five of us in the inner circle of the group, and only a few of us knew where they were hidden. Of those, it was only Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, the three of us, and our other friend Peter Pettigrew …"

Isa's eyes shot to mine because we both knew we'd heard that name before. We listened carefully to the rest of the tale being told by Sirius.

"We never could pinpoint who it was because the one person who could have told us was blown up with twelve muggles by your brother-in-law Rabastan Lestrange. The only part of him that was left was a finger."

The twins chuckled a little at the description before blurting out in perfect sync. "You made it sound like muggles are an explosive device!"

It brought a little bit of levity to an otherwise heavy conversation, giving us all a bit of a laugh.

But it was Isa's thoughts that drew my attention when she looked at me. _If Peter Pettigrew died at Lestrange's hand, then how are we seeing him at Hogwarts on the Marauder's Map?_

That was the question.

~*~UHS~*~

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon talking about everything that had happened in the last two years. Isa and I filled the others in on everything Dumbledore'd had us do and learn, especially last school year in our DADA lessons.

We even filled them in on the memories that Dumbledore had shown us about Tom Riddle himself. To say they were shocked was an understatement. But more so about how much he was putting on the shoulders of Isa and me.

At around three, Sirius decided to use his Polyjuice potion one last time and escort Narcissa and Draco home after they went to the Leaky Cauldron to catch up and get to know one another again. After that, Sirius had decided it was time he came out of hiding; he was going to return to the wizarding world as Sirius Black. After all, he had a godson to protect and get to know.

The one thing we didn't talk about, however, was the fact that we had seen the name Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map. We would, and soon, but we had to digest that fact first.

Isa and I had decided to retire to our suite because there was something I had to talk to her about. Something that I had been wondering about.

 _Wow, what a lot of information to process._ Isa huffed as she sat on the couch in our sitting area. _What do we tell them?_

"The truth, when we've had time to digest it all." I sighed, taking a seat next to her and raising my arm so she could snuggle in. "I do have a question for you though."

 _Shoot._

"You've been having these … dreams lately that aren't making a lot of sense. They aren't all the time, but I wondered if they had any ties to your fear of traveling by the Floo Network."

 _Oh. Green fire, empty house?_ I nodded against the top of her head when I leaned down to kiss it because she had tensed up a little. _Mother and I moved a lot after Daddy died. Every time she racked up a few exes, we'd have to move to a new town since we only moved to small ones. We moved a lot by the floo network; even when I was younger, I disliked it._ I watched her memories as she told me what had happened to scare her so badly. _One day, we were in a hurry. Mother had really made a mess of things, gotten in between the mayor and_ her _husband. She basically threw me into the fireplace while yelling out the name of the next house we were moving into … then left me there, for hours, all alone._

Well, that certainly explained a lot. But … "The first time we went through the floo network, you were terrified to be without someone at either end. It had to be me, Esme, or Carlisle." Isa nodded to my thoughts. "But did you know that, lately, all you've needed to get there is me? You didn't even really need Esme here the other morning before we went to the hospital."

Isa sat up, looking straight at me. I could see she was going over every time we'd used the floo network, and how much more comfortable she was using it now than she was a couple years ago.

 _Huh. Do you think one day I might be able to do it all on my own?_

I pulled her closer, hugging her tighter. "I really do. One day, you won't have to worry about it at all." We sat that way for a little while just thinking about everything we'd learned that day. "Okay, I need a distraction; want to come to the Ministry of Magic with me?"

 _What do you need to go there for?_

"It's a surprise I'm working on. I'll tell you more when we get there."

"Let's go then. I want to hear all about it!" Isa stood, pretending to pull me from the sofa then leading me over to our fireplace. "I want to try going through myself. Since you've pointed out how much more comfortable I am, I want to try more, but I don't think I'm ready to wait on the other side for you."

I smiled. "Home is your safe harbor; I get it. I'll see you at the ministry." Grabbing some floo powder, I stepped into our fireplace. "Ministry of Magic."

It didn't take Isa long to step through the fireplace behind me, and the look on her face told me how proud of herself she was.

"Where are we going?"

"We have to go to the department that deals with real estate. I want to look into buying that publishing house."

Isa's brows furrowed while she thought it over before she looked back at me. "Whatever for?"

"Something that Sirius and Remus said the other day stayed with me. The ministry owns the Daily Prophet, which means that they can withhold or even dictate what truth they want to run in their paper."

"And when the time comes, you want to make sure the truth comes out whether they tell it or not. That's a dangerous game, Edward."

I shook my head, leading her into the elevators to the rear of the grand foyer. And it was grand; it had a massive golden statue with figures of a wizard, witch, centaur, goblin, and house elf. There was writing around the base of it saying, "The Fountain of Magical Brethren." Was this supposed to tell the story of how magical creatures were with each other because, if that was the case, it was a lie.

"No, it's not because we won't just produce our own paper. From the records I had sent over, there was a list of equipment. In that equipment were several printing presses. It was a large scale operation with many presses and a storefront that is large enough we could house a small museum to literature in the wizarding world."

"So what, we'd open a press to anyone who wanted to print? Keeping one for ourselves to run our own paper, so if they tried to shut us down …"

"They'd only get the one. The one press that was printing our paper. The rest we'd lease for a small fee to anyone wanting to print."

"Or we could run it as a publishing house, as well," Isa mused. "Have a few editors on board, then we could print books as well, not just papers." I nodded, following her line of thought. "How many presses are we talking about?"

"It just listed several. That's what we're here to find out. But considering the amount of books they churned out for Lockhart, I couldn't guess, but I dare say a lot."

Isa smirked while looking up at me. It was just this side of evil, like she knew that we would do some good, but people weren't going to like it.

"And, baby girl, those spells you've been researching to find hidden spells or potions will come in handy. Because the last thing we need is any trace of whatever potion was used on Lockhart's books. We want it to be the real truth and not one believed because of a potion."

"Definitely not."

We were quiet while we rode the elevator both backward and down to the Ministry Real Estate office. I had given Isa a lot to think about, and I could see it all swirling in her mind. She knew I was right, if and when, Voldemort came back, the ministry would spin it any way they could to hide that fact. Of that, I had no doubt.

Once we climbed off the elevator, we followed the signs down the hall and around the corner coming to a glass door. It had gold writing across the door announcing that it was the real estate office. I opened the door, letting Isa go through before me, before looking around. The office was quaint with a few tables and chairs placed around, but there weren't many people. Just an older gentleman, who was dressed impeccably in wizarding robes and black, slicked-back hair. He held his hand out to me, addressing just me. It was something I noticed about the wizarding world; the men were spoken to first.

"Hello, I'm Didymus Genspola. What can I do for you?"

"Hi. My name is Edward Masen and this is my mate, Isabella Swan."

 _Swan, as in Charlie Swan? Is she finally selling that house of theirs …_ I could see the galleons float around in his thoughts, something that not even Isa missed. She knew her house would bring a pretty price, but there was no way she'd ever sell.

"I wrote to register my interest in the publishing house that has gone up for sale in Diagon Alley."

 _Oh …_ the disappointment was all over his face. "Yes, I remember receiving an owl in regard to that. I sent you the information. What more could you possibly want to know?"

"We would like to inspect the premises. We want to make sure it will suit our needs before we purchase."

There was a furrow to his brow, like he'd never had that kind of request before. Did people in the wizarding world really purchase without seeing their properties first?

"Of course. Let's go back through to the fireplaces and make our way to Diagon Alley. It's right next door to the new clothing store that opened up last year."

Isa and I smiled at each other; it was next door to Alice's shop, and I wondered why she never mentioned it before. We waited while the wizard gathered his things then we followed him back through the ministry and out to the fireplaces, getting another look at that statue. I hoped that when it was built, things were like that, but I couldn't see it now. Especially with how house elves were treated by some families.

Mr. Genspola became more animated as we walked down Diagon Alley, telling us all about the advantages of owning the publishing house. How it was centrally located for the wizarding community, but not once did he mention the fact that it had been the main distributer for Gilderoy Lockhart's books. Not that I thought it was a selling point, and it seemed that neither did he.

"As you can see, the front shop is large, but the space is underutilized. There is much more that could be done with it."

Isa wandered around. _The counter could be moved over there._ She showed me a spot in her head along the side wall in front of a door that lead to the back, I assumed. _That part over there would be good for the museum section, if we divided it with something._ _Maybe have another counter in there with someone who can answer questions._

I nodded along with her thoughts. "A new coat of paint would be a good thing too," I murmured before gesturing for our agent to keep showing us some more.

"If you follow me." He led us through the door that indeed led to the back, into a corridor. "Over here on the left are a couple offices but, again, the space in underused, as well as the conference room on the right," he said, opening up the doors so we could see what was behind them.

 _Plenty of room for editors, journalists, and their equipment. This space really was wasted._ Isa thought, looking up at me. I nodded, agreeing with her completely.

"The printing happened back here through this door." Mr. Genspola opened the last door in the hallway leading to a very large warehouse-style room. But it was what was inside that room that I was interested in. "As you can see, there are a lot of printing presses left. There are also reams and reams of paper, hundreds of buckets of ink in both black and color, and all the equipment to bind many, many books. Why don't you have a look around, and I'll wait for you in the shop out front?"

I shook his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Genspola; we'll be out there shortly."

We didn't say a word until we'd heard him make his way out to the front of the store. Once he was clear, we looked around the area.

"What do you think?" Isa asked.

"I think we have a great start here." I spun around, counting. "There're fifteen presses." I paused, sniffing. "I can smell that potion in here."

"Me too. But it's farther back. I don't think it's on all the machines."

Isa and I slowly worked our way along the rows of presses using our sense of smell. I found three presses while Isa found two in her row.

Isa was nodding slowly. "Not too shabby. If we can't get the spells or ink off of them, we only lose these. Not a big deal, really." She paused before pointing. "What are those over there?"

I turned around and found a pile of books that were stacked up on a pallet off to the side. Frowning, I walked over to pick one of them up, realizing they were the last of the books that had come off the line.

Isa walked up behind me, squeezing under my arm to look. "What are they?"

"Lockhart's books. The last ones printed before the house closed down." I flipped open to look through, only to realize that some of the memories he had stolen seemed to be missing, and others seemed to be only partly there. Slowing down until we were just looking at one page, Isa and I watched as the words disappeared one by one, in reverse.

"What do you think is causing that?"

"I think it's possible that whoever this memory belonged to is getting it back. And in order to do that, the pages lose their words because they weren't Lockhart's to begin with."

Isa snorted. "You mean that the publisher didn't believe Lockhart so they made their potion with a clause that stated if the original owner of the memory got it back, Lockhart's words would no longer hold power?"

"You might be right." I laughed. "But I wonder what will happen to the potion on the books now, and the people who believed because of it."

"Hopefully, nothing," Isa mused. "But in regard to the rest of this building, I think a yes is in order."

I smiled, putting the book back on the pile. We'd burn those as soon as possible. "I think you're right. Let's go tell Mr. Genspola and get some paperwork signed."

"You mean you get to sign the paperwork."

I bobbed down, placing a kiss on my girl's forehead. "No, sweetheart. We will sign the paperwork; this will be yours as much as it's mine. Even if you legally can't do anything with it until you turn seventeen."

Isa was shocked into silence but grabbed my hand when I held it out to her and followed me back to the front.

Mr. Genspola smiled when we emerged. "Well, what's the verdict?"

"We'll take it!"

~*~UHS~*~

We all needed a break from heavy conversation, so, for the next two days, our friends and family cleaned out and rearranged the storefront, offices, staff room, and the conference room. We were able to strip out all the non-load-bearing walls so we could make more offices for editors and journalists.

Shane, Sirius, and Remus used it as an opportunity to teach us some more everyday spells such as Scourgify, the scouring spell, and even Reparo. But the majority of the walls were moved with vampire speed and strength. By the time we were finished, we had an editor-in-chief's office, three other offices for editors, and three more for journalists. We still had the conference room plus the staff room, which Esme made sure was fully stocked with coffee and teapots, a fridge, cutlery, and dinnerware.

Isa was right; once we tidied up the front and added a screen, we had a decent-sized shop as well as a small museum for literature. And the first books we added was a complete collection of Lockhart's books. We were using them as a warning to others thinking they could get away with what he had done.

Once everything had been cleared, moved, and replaced, we were ready to paint. On the day we were set to do that, Isa was going to work with Remus, trying to clean up the last five presses. Sirius and Remus had looked them over and agreed with our assessment that it was only the ones we had identified.

The night before, Remus had gone over Isa's list of spells she'd collected to see if there was anything to add to the list. He had been very impressed and told her that if she couldn't remove the potion or spells from the presses then they wouldn't be worth saving.

It took us the better part of the day to have everything painted, but it was Isa storming through the door from the back that caught my attention. She seemed to be furious on the outside, but I could hear from her mind that she was just frustrated.

Esme managed to catch her before she made her way into Diagon Alley. "Whoa there, sweet girl. What's going on?"

"I wanted to be able to save those presses, but the spell and the potion won't come off. I tried everything."

"And I told you if that list of spells didn't work, nothing would," Remus interrupted from the doorway. "There's no need to be upset about it. You guys still have ten good presses back there; that should be enough for whatever it is you're planning to do."

We hadn't filled everyone in on what we were doing yet. Isa and I had discussed it, and we wanted to use this school year to plan everything out, down to the name and layout, before opening next summer. During next summer, we would help run the place before handing it off to whom I thought could run it without us until we could come back again. I had filled Isa in on the thoughts I'd heard from Remus and James and knew we would have good candidates in them. In fact, I thought Remus would be an excellent editor-in-chief if we could get his wolf side under control.

Esme bobbed down in front of my girl. "He's right; you tried everything. There's no harm in keeping them in case you come across more spells you want to try later on down the road. Or you could just buy more if the need ever arises. Bella, there is nothing wrong with admitting defeat once in a while."

Isa turned to me. "What do you think, Teddy?"

"I think ten presses are more than enough, and who are you to deny Emmett his fun?"

Isa and Hermione burst into adorable laughter at the smile on Emmett's face.

"Go on, Emmett. Have some fun." I nodded in the direction of the back door, and Emmett took off faster than he'd ever done before. Instead of hanging around, we walked out into Diagon Alley to have some ice cream while we waited for him to have the presses compacted into cubes.

Once he was done, we locked up and made our way home. We were taking the next day off before we were getting back together again to finish discussing everything. It was also the next day Draco and Narcissa could make it over.

~*~UHS~*~

The next day, we were back in the family room waiting for everyone to arrive. Isa, Hermione, and Neville were having a round-robin game of Wizard's Chess while Emmett and Jasper were debating the merits of trying to score such a match. It seemed the more violent the pieces, the more points a person was awarded. I couldn't help but chuckle because it seemed the pieces agreed and got more and more violent the more they debated. Esme was in the kitchen with Kreacher, preparing some food and drinks for all of our guests.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Athan flew through the window with the day's Daily Prophet. He landed on my shoulder, holding out his leg and nipping at my ear, asking for a treat. I reached up and handed him one while untying the paper with my other hand.

"Thank you, Athan. Go rest."

 _You're welcome, Edward. Before I go, there seemed to be an uproar in London today; something that was printed in the paper._

"Thank you, again, Athan."

Athan hooted before flying outside to the owlery while I opened the paper. The headline caught my attention as did the picture on the front.

"Oh, shit, this can't be good."

"What can't be good?" Jasper and Emmett asked.

"This," I said as I turned the paper to them.

There, glaring out from the front page, was the picture of a man. One I had seen a few times but only in the minds of people I knew. He was older, scragglier, and gaunter than I had seen, but it was the accompanying headline that drew our attention the most.

 _CONVICTED MASS MURDERER, RABASTAN LESTRANGE, ESCAPES FROM AZKABAN PRISON._

~*~UHS~*~

** _The prophecy is the one written by JK Rowling in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Chapter Thirty-Seven – The Lost Prophecy, page 741. No copyright infringement intended._

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 **Sooooo what do we think? Two big reveals in this chapter, first: The reasons for Neville being the chosen one, and Second: the Prisoner.**

 **See you all in a fortnight.**


	3. Chapter Two - Summer Part II

**Hello everyone! And welcome to another posting of Under Her Spell - Book Three! I hope you've all had a good fortnight. I've finished school for this semester, so I'm hoping to get some serious writing done on book four over the next six weeks, we'll have to wait and see.**

 **Thank you to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson for coming along on this ride with me again. Seriously, I wouldn't be here if not for both of them.**

 **I do not own Twilight and Harry Potter, unfortunately, they belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See you all at the bottom!**

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 **03 – Chapter Two – Summer Part II**

It seemed that the delivery and subsequent notice of the headline from today's paper started an avalanche of activity. Jasper and Emmett scrambled to gather their copies of the paper while Hermione, Isa, and Neville asked what had happened, but it was the pops from wizards apparating outside that caught my attention. Well, that and some of the Weasleys flying overhead.

"Edward, did you get today's paper delivered yet?" Sirius rambled at high speed, running in the door.

"I did. This is not good news."

"It really isn't. Is everyone here yet?"

"We're only waiting on Draco and Narcissa. But Isa and I have something to discuss with all of you as well."

"Is it important?" I nodded, looking him in the eye. "Okay, then, we'll do that, too. But after we discuss this development."

Everyone was talking all at once; they were all up in arms about Lestrange breaking out of Azkaban. But it was James's thoughts that caught my attention. He was worried, scared, that Lestrange was going to come after Harry, to try and finish what Voldemort had started thirteen years ago, and right when James was thinking about revealing himself.

"I don't think that's a good idea, James. Having one Potter back is enough, plus Sirius; if you come back, it might just start an avalanche that we can't get in front of."

James huffed in frustration. "But I want to be able to protect my son. How can I do that if I can't even be who I am?"

"By doing exactly what you are doing. Harry is going to have a big enough target on his back as it is, thanks to Voldemort, gossiping schoolchildren, and if you are correct, this Lestrange. If you come out, there will be a bigger one aimed at him because they'll use you to get to him."

James went to open his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut when he thought better of it. He thought over what I had said and realized I was right; he would be used against Harry, and Harry wouldn't think twice about offering himself to take his father's place.

Harry had joined Hermione, Isa, Ginny, and Neville but was silent because he wasn't sure what to make of everything going on around him. He knew Voldemort would probably come for him; he actually had no doubt about that, but to know that one of his creepy followers could possibly try to get him as well was freaking him out. But the good thing about all of this was it was making him more determined to learn how to defend not only himself but all of his loved ones. He didn't want to be the weak link or to be coddled; he wanted to be able to stand at the front of the group and say a big "Fuck You" to Voldemort and anybody who thought about killing him.

Okay, so it wasn't what he was thinking in so many words, but that was how I interpreted it.

Harry could feel me looking at him and turned to see what I wanted. All I gave him was a smile and a thumbs up, making him cheer a little inside.

While everyone was talking all over each other, I heard Draco and Narcissa arrive, so I went to open the door for them. I was greeted with a quick hello as Narcissa ran to Sirius in tears. She was afraid, very afraid, because Rabastan was worse than Lucius. He didn't care who you were or what you meant to someone; he'd lash out and hit whoever was closest.

And still, when she calmed down, she refused our help to get her out of that situation. Narcissa was adamant that we'd need her and Draco there to help take down Voldemort when the time came.

It didn't take long for all the voices to take their toll on not only my hearing but my mind reading. I had to sit and cover my ears and close my eyes to try to adjust to everything going on. I forgot that Emmett was in the room until he let out the loudest wolf whistle I had ever heard, capturing everyone's attention.

"Right, I want quiet, and I want everyone to sit," he said loudly. Blessedly, I could open my eyes to look up at him. "Now, while all this noise is okay for you humans, the resident immortals tend to get a headache when there is so much going on, especially if it comes on all at once. And it's usually worse for those who have talents," Emmett stated, pointing in my direction. "We all agree this is bad, very bad, but we need to stop arguing about it and come up with a plan. What is this guy like, and how did he get out of Azkaban? I thought that place was escape proof."

The quietening of the voices had helped, and with Emmett's direction, the thoughts had slowed down to something more manageable. And to his credit, they were very good questions.

Remus flopped down onto a chair. "It's supposed to be escape proof, not for the fact that it's out in the middle of the North Sea, but because it's guarded by the Dementors. I've heard rumors that criminals who are sent there usually, and I say usually, go mad in a matter of weeks. I have no idea how he broke out; nobody has ever done it before."

"That we know about," Sirius snorted. "Because that's not exactly something the ministry would advertise, now, is it?"

"Then why now? Why has this one been put out in all the papers?" Neville asked the logical question.

It was Isa who asked the question, the one we were all concerned about. "And why? Why has he escaped?"

"Those questions, we may never know the answer to, and there's no point in dwelling on them," I interrupted the thoughts circling around. "What we need to do now is make that plan. Practice for what may be coming in our direction, and never, ever go off alone, even at Hogwarts."

That brought everyone up short, but it was George who voiced the thoughts floating around. "Do you think he'd try to get Harry, or anybody, at Hogwarts?"

I snorted this time. "Why not? Every other time someone has wanted to try something, they've gotten to us at Hogwarts."

"And school is supposed to be safe," Hermione stated sarcastically. "For Merlin's sake, last year, we went up against a thousand-year-old monster working with a memory of Voldemort and won; the year before, Isa and Edward faced off with Voldemort himself—even if he was using Quirrell—and won. With four vampires, a Veela, and you guys teaching us more advanced magic, hopefully, we'll be okay."

"And I think Sirius and I will move closer to the school this year. We'll stay in Hogsmeade and patrol the grounds in our Animagus forms; since nobody knows, we can wander into the Forbidden Forest."

"I can help with that too since I'm assistant Game Keeper. It'll be like first year again," Emmett agreed. "Well, it seems we've got the start of a damn good plan."

Narcissa looked around at everyone. "As much as I know, you guys want me to walk away from Lucius and all that happens. I can't. You need someone there who can keep her ear to the ground and listen to all the gossip happening; I'll pass what I can onto Draco. Can he join in your lessons? Getting him away from the manor will be easier than both of us."

"No, Mother. Then you'll be left there alone with _him._ I don't want you to get hurt," Draco pleaded.

"And I want you to be able to defend yourself. I'm there with him all year, alone, while you're at school. Please, don't worry, baby; I'll be fine."

Draco watched his mother then reluctantly turned and nodded to Remus. "If that's okay with you?"

Remus leaned forward. "As much as you don't want to admit it, your mother is right, Draco. We would be more than happy to teach you, as long as you can get away safely."

"Then that's settled." Sirius clapped his hands. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Edward?"

I pulled the parchment out of my pocket and laid it on the coffee table in front of everyone before looking up at who I thought was the Marauders. "I think you three know what this is?"

They nodded, looking surprised. "How did you work that out?" James asked.

"Well, it took me a while, but it came down to a thought I heard when we were sparring in the back yard. Sirius was cheering you on. Only when he was looking at you he called you Prongs, in his thoughts. It wasn't until I looked at where I had placed the map later that day that it clicked." I tapped the map just like Fred and George had shown me. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

For those who hadn't seen it, they all leaned forward to have a look as the front of it was revealed.

"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders Map," Neville read. "Wait, why are you Prongs, and who are the others?"

Instead of telling Neville and the others about what they could do, Sirius and James stood to move to an open area in the family room. Those who had never seen it watched in fascination. One second, they were people, and with a blink, Sirius and James transformed into a large scraggly black dog—almost the size of a large wolf—and a large, proud, tall buck with an impressive set of antlers.

I smirked at the gasps around the room. "Everyone, meet Padfoot," I pointed to Sirius, "and Prongs." I pointed to James.

"Ooohhh," Neville murmured.

"You guys are our heroes! We owe you so much!" Fred and George called and nearly, if it wasn't for Jasper, would have fallen to their knees and bowed down, which caused us all to chuckle.

Hermione giggled at them but turned back to Sirius and James, who had returned to their human forms. "So you're Padfoot and Prongs; I'm guessing that makes you Moony, Remus?"

"What, why?" asked Neville.

Remus sighed. "When I was a child, I was bitten by a werewolf, Neville. My parents raised me as best they could, moving when things got too noticeable, and Dumbledore was kind enough to let me come to Hogwarts even though I shouldn't have. He knew I could be more unpredictable if I wasn't trained with my magic.

"Funny enough, I clicked with James, Sirius, and Peter straight away, but even then, I didn't tell them. It didn't take long for them to figure it out; I thought I would lose them. Instead, they trained hard and learned to become animagi to help me through the cycle. It was easier when they were animals. That was how we came up with our nicknames. And it was during our monthly wanderings that we started to map Hogwarts. Once it got too big, we created a spell to transfer it to the parchment there in front of you." Remus pointed to it.

Sirius chuckled. "We had that damn thing right up until our last year, then Filch caught us with it. We managed to turn it off before he confiscated it, but he took it anyway, even if he didn't know what it was. But, yeah, we created it."

"And Peter? What was Peter?" Isa asked.

James looked up at us, then his thoughts were muddled with the thought of Peter, almost like he was trying to hide something. "Peter was a rat. But what are all these questions about the map, about Peter?"

"Fred and George were kind enough to give me this map just before we started our first year." The boys in question, cheered. "It's helped Isa and I work through things and find shortcuts around the castle. What I want to know is how accurate is this map? Does it ever lie?"

"The map never lies," Sirius was adamant. "We made sure of that; it can't lie. Why?"

I took a deep breath, preparing to answer when Isa beat me to it. "Because we've seen Peter Pettigrew on the map."

There was nothing but silence, at least in voice; there was, however, three with very loud thoughts. Even if they were trying very hard not to think about what they were hiding.

"That's not possible," James whispered, looking ahead, like he was looking through us all. "He's dead."

"Then the map must be lying," Isa stated.

Remus was the one to argue this time; his thoughts were clearer but not about what I wanted to know. "No, no. It can't. We made sure the spell on it only showed the people in the castle, although most familiars show up too."

"So what does this mean?" Draco was the one to break the silence this time.

Sirius answered in a hard voice, his thoughts the clearest of all. He wanted revenge, but I didn't know for what. "It means that Edward is going to have to keep a very close eye on the map this year, as well as listening to thoughts all across the castle. James and I will move to Hogsmeade and patrol around the castle. We need to interrogate Peter."

~*~UHS~*~

After organizing the start of our more intensive training for the next day, everyone started to go about other things. Draco and Narcissa went home before it became obvious they were gone, the Weasleys headed home because Molly was preparing dinner. Neville and Harry went off to read over some more of the spells they wanted to learn and practice while Isa and Hermione stepped outside to feed and play with Athan, Saffy, and the flying pups. It seemed that while we were away at school, they had grown considerably and learned to fly a bit, and Athan was having the time of his life teaching them to do aerial tricks.

But my attention was drawn to the squabbling trio that was standing on our back patio. The whole house could hear them arguing, but it seemed nobody could understand them but me because they were doing it in some kind of modified language. It was very effective to thwart overly nosy, super-hearing, language-savvy vampires, all of them, besides the resident mind reader who could see them translating in their minds.

It was time somebody got them all to speak the truth, and it seemed that person was going to have to be me.

I slowly made my way through the house from the front door. I had finished saying goodbye to the Weasleys. I wanted to give them time to stop their argument on their own, but they only seemed to be getting louder and louder the more I let them continue. In fact, the only time they stopped was when I stepped out the back door and Sirius saw me.

Remus and James spun to face me as I stood in the doorway staring at them. With my arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, I stared back. I had found, in my long life, that the best way to get someone to confess was just to give them time to hang themselves.

The three of them were stronger than I gave them credit for.

While I stared at them, waiting them out, I saw Athan perform a spiral landing over and over, hooting excitedly to the girls' cheers. After the last one, there were several dull thuds as the pups had followed, trying to imitate Athan's flawless execution. I had to bite my lip to refrain from laughing at the pups shaking off the less than soft landing with disgruntled expressions on their snouts.

With Isa and Hermione encouraging them, they kept trying. Falkor got it on his third try, nearly fifteen minutes later. It took another five minutes before either Sirius, James, or Remus broke, and surprisingly, the first one was Sirius; I thought he would have been the last.

"Fine, fine." He threw his arms in the air, letting them come back down with a smack on his legs. "What do you think you know?"

All I did was smirk and shrug the shoulder that wasn't leaning against the doorframe. The whole family, those who weren't human anyway, were listening, and I wasn't going to pluck the answer from Sirius, James, and Remus's heads; they were going to have to tell me. It only took a few minutes to get what I wanted.

Remus looked from Sirius to me before speaking. "Peter Pettigrew is responsible for the attack on the Potters. We thought we lost our chance to make him pay; the fact that you say he's alive gave us hope to catch him and bring him to justice.

"You see, Peter was Lily and James's secret keeper; the Longbottoms had their own. A secret keeper is a person who is trusted with the knowledge of a place that is protected by the Fidelius charm. Only the secret keeper can tell another the location of the protected place. I still can't tell you the location of the Potter cottage that was attacked. Only Peter can tell you. Well, damn, Sirius, James, we should have known he's still alive. The Fidelius charm is still active!"

"Which means that Peter was the only one who was able to give Lily and James's location to Voldemort," I finished. "That's the revenge you want," I pointed to Sirius. "You can't do that, Sirius; killing in cold blood will change you, irrevocably. Interrogate, yes absolutely; we need to know what he does, but I will not allow you to travel down that dark path. What do you know about the Longbottoms' secret keeper?"

"I can do what I want!" Sirius yelled like a spoiled toddler.

"And how can you then protect Harry or even James if you're locked up in Azkaban for murder?" Sirius froze. "Exactly! Now, what happened to the Longbottoms' secret keeper?"

James answered this time. "He either ended up in Azkaban or died after giving up the location to their hiding place; we don't know; we've been unable to find out. We may never find out."

I nodded, looking over the back yard at the giggling girls and listening to everyone inside. "That may be something we will seriously have to look into because he could become a problem if he's still alive, be it in Azkaban or in hiding, like Peter. We need to know, everything, to be prepared."

I looked back at Sirius, James, and Remus. "We need to be able to trust each other going forward; keeping things like this to ourselves only pushes that trust away. I know you guys want revenge, but that's not the way it's done. If we all did that, we'd be no better than Voldemort." With that, I turned and walked back into the house, leaving them there like scolded little boys. Isa and I had been truthful, telling them everything we'd known, including Voldemort's true identity; we needed the same in return.

Finding Peter would be a priority, but then, so was protecting Harry from Lestrange.

Hogwarts was going to be more dangerous than ever this year it seemed.

~*~UHS~*~

The plan we'd figured out would be that we would train in spells and duels three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays would be spent following our own pursuits. It was on these days that Isa and I worked on our potions and inventions.

On the second week of this schedule, Isa had managed to work out what spells had been used to create the Mirrorsieve, thanks to the spells Charlie had provided. Isa had been so excited to figure it out that she had moved right on to creating something herself. It was all hush, hush.

Well, she'd sworn me to secrecy.

I'd spoken to Emmett and Jasper about possibly building a basement for magical items that were going to end up in our care and also a workshop for Isa. If she was successful, and I had no doubt she would be, she'd need a bigger place to work from. They'd both agreed that something would be a good idea because some of these artefacts were going to need protecting.

During my time, I'd scheduled Tuesdays for working on my Month Long Mini Mints and Thursdays for helping Remus with modifying his potion. We'd spoken about it and decided that, to start, the best thing next to stopping his change at all would be to make sure he was a useful wolf during that period instead of a sleeping one. At the moment, he'd only be able to sleep during the full moon, as a wolf.

But anything was better than turning into a werewolf and injuring someone.

Saturdays were the days I dedicated to trying to figure out how to make the Animagus spell strong enough to help Isa and I turn. That one wasn't going to be easy.

What was funny was that we weren't the only ones using those separate days to further other pursuits. Hermione and Neville were researching Rabastan Lestrange and how it was possible that he could have escaped the most feared wizard's prison of all time. In fact, from what I could hear, they were researching as many dark wizards as possible, sometimes going back as far as Grindelwald himself.

Now, there was an interesting fellow. I snorted. _Not._ But far be it from me to stop them researching what we were up against.

"Hey, Edward. Any luck on my potion?" Remus asked as he walked into the library. When I was in the hidden cauldron room, I tended to leave the sliding bookshelf open so Isa could find me easily.

"I have, actually, but it'll have to wait until we get time to go to Diagon Alley. I need some rarer ingredients, plus I want to look for some to work with the mint."

"Excellent. That's good to hear. I'm actually here because Dumbledore is coming here. You've all been so focused on what you've been doing that he hasn't been able to get a hold of you. He sent me; the others will be here soon."

"Draco?"

Remus shook his head. "No, we'll have to fill him in when he gets here tomorrow. Besides, Dumbledore doesn't know about Draco, does he?"

"No, he doesn't. All right, let me just close up; I'll meet you in the family room." Remus nodded, then left the room. I packed up quickly, cleaning my cauldron and putting things back in their bottles or containers before following him and sliding the bookshelf shut. By the time I made it into the family room, everyone was there, including Dumbledore.

"Thank you, everyone, for joining me here today. I'm sure by now you've heard the news of Rabastan Lestrange escaping from Azkaban Prison?" We nodded to his question. "Due to the brilliant wisdom of our Minister of Magic"—at this, there were snorts around the room—"we will have new guards at Hogwarts this coming school year."

Once again, Dumbledore had told us what he wanted, in a roundabout way, which meant nobody knew what he meant. But I could see.

"He's going to have Dementors at the school? Is that wise?" I asked.

There were gasps from everyone in the room. We'd all heard about these monsters, and Dumbledore had been explicit when he'd explained them to us a couple years ago.

"No, I don't think it's wise, and I've spent the last couple weeks arguing this very thing. But Lestrange is still at large, and they think he'll come for Harry, as much as we do. I have managed to keep them off the grounds; that's something, at least."

The thoughts around the room were going wild. No one, not one of us that were to be at school this coming year, wanted to be anywhere near these monsters.

Dumbledore continued. "I know you three have been teaching them dueling practices and some defensive magic." He pointed to Sirius, James, and Remus. "But I think the Patronus charm should be the next one on the list. They'll need it, of that I have no doubt."

"Of course, Albus. We'll get started on that one tomorrow," Remus agreed.

"Good, good. I've got to get going. I'm going to go back to the ministry to try and fight this some more."

I followed Dumbledore to the front door, thanking him for letting us know about the Dementors; he really was in a hurry.

"Is that really a good idea, Remus, having those creatures near the school?" Esme was asking as I walked back into the family room.

"Professor Dumbledore is right; it's not good to have them around the school, but on the plus side, he's managed to keep them off the grounds. Teaching the kids the Patronus charm is going to be a priority because it will keep the Dementors away if they get too close."

Sirius stood. "Then we start on that tomorrow."

~*~UHS~*~

The next morning found all of us outside, standing in a semi-circle, surrounding Sirius, James, and Remus. Though it was the latter who was teaching us.

"The Patronus Charm or Expecto Patronum is one of the oldest spells in wizardry. In fact, as far as I know, it predates written spells. It's an immensely complicated and extremely difficult spell, but if you get it right, it can produce a Patronus or Spirit Guardian."

"Are all Patronuses the same?" Harry blurted out before slapping his hand over his mouth; he hadn't meant to say that.

Sirius chuckled at him. "No. A Patronus is as individual as a person. Some couples may have similar ones like your father and mother. They had a buck and a doe. Same breed, different sexes." Sirius pointed at Isa and I. "It's possible that if Edward and Bella produce them, theirs will be similar."

"There are two types of Patronus," Remus continued, poking Sirius with his wand. "The corporeal, which takes the form of your spirit guardian. The other is non-corporeal, which means it has no shape. It also isn't as effective as the corporeal one.

"James, will you please show us your Patronus?"

James stepped slightly in front of the other two and cast the spell. A silvery buck shot out of the end of his wand, weaving all around and between us before stopping next to Harry and touching the top of his head. Then it blew away like a wisp of smoke on the breeze.

James stepped back, and Remus stepped forward. "This is what the non-corporeal one looks like." Remus cast the spell by holding his wand out in front of him. His Patronus was like a shield that he could move around with his wand to ward off something coming at him. "To be able to cast this spell, you need to concentrate hard on the happiest memory you have because this spell is a projection of all of your most positive feelings."

Isa and I looked at each other because the happiest memory we had, so far, was the day we found each other. I'm sure there would be happier ones as we went along, but that day, and every day after together, had been the happiest.

"You need to move your wand like this"—Remus moved his wand in the first swirl of a spiral—"and say 'Expecto Patronum.' If you have your happiest memory, something should happen. Don't worry if it doesn't happen straight away because it's very advanced magic. Now take a step back, give yourself some space, and give it a go."

We practiced the spell and motion of the wand for a while, and Remus was right, it was a hard spell to master. Isa and I managed to cast the non-corporeal version after a few tries, but concentrating all of our energy on our happiest memories even managed to start draining us after a while.

"Okay, everyone, stop!" Remus called. "Sit down, all of you, before you fall. Esme, can you bring some chocolate out for everyone?"

"Yay, chocolate!" Hermione, Isa, and Ginny cheered quietly while flopping on the ground, causing us to chuckle at them.

"Um, Remus," Draco started quietly. He was still a little hesitant around us; it would take time for him to become comfortable, and that was fine; we were noisy enough to cover him anyway.

"Yes, Draco?"

"Why is your Patronus, um, non-corporeal?"

"Ah, good question. That, my boy, is choice. Because I am what I am; I didn't want to have a corporeal Patronus in case it gives away my werewolf status. I'm thankful that I haven't had to use it yet, but you never know."

Neville was next to ask a question just as Esme brought out a tray of chocolate. "Are werewolves really that dangerous?"

Remus nodded while passing the tray onto Ginny. "Oh, yes. You've heard about other vampires from Edward and the other Cullens, I presume." Hermione, Ginny, and Neville nodded. "So you know they're a rarity in the vampire world. I, too, am a rarity. In fact, I've never met another werewolf who has my affinity for mankind. They all seem to follow their instincts in both their human and wolf forms."

I could see as a shiver ran down the spines of several of my friends. It was nerve-wracking that there were monsters out there worse than even some of the vilest of vampires; it certainly put the thoughts I had a few years ago, about myself, into perspective.

Even at my worst, I was never that much of a monster.

"All right, we'll have a few more goes, then we'll break for lunch," Sirius called. "This one is important; we want you to be able to protect yourselves."

We all stood with steely determination. There was going to be nothing getting in our way of learning this spell; it didn't matter how old or how hard it was.

~*~UHS~*~

It was the day before my birthday celebration—Esme had postponed it to be able to invite everyone—and one of our invention days. I was working on combining the ingredients I needed to make my Mandrake Leaf Month-long Mini Mint. That wasn't such a problem; it was making sure the mint didn't completely melt in our mouths before the time was up. But it also had to be able to disintegrate to be able to make the Animagus Potion.

See, we had to keep the Mandrake Leaf in our mouths for a full month before creating the Animagus Potion. That potion is to be drunk after the beginning of a lightning storm after reciting the _Amato Animo Animato Animagus_ incantation, which loosely translated to _I give love, breath, and life to my wizard animal_. The incantation has to be said at sunrise and sunset every day after having the leaf in your mouth for a month. Ugh.

On top of all of that, I was working on a stronger version of the incantation so it would work on Isa and I. Hopefully, I hadn't taken on more than I could chew. But I wasn't going to give up; Isa wanted this so badly, and to be honest, so did I. It was something I was going to have to figure out.

I was writing down some calculations in my potions journal when I was brought out of my thoughts by thumping feet on the stairs. I knew they could only be Isa because any of the other humans in our house would have fallen over running at that speed.

"Teddy, Teddy, Teddy! Guess what?"

"Whoa there!" I grabbed her up in my arms to stop her forward momentum; otherwise, she was going to run into something that would hurt her. "What, sweetheart?"

Isa stood up straight but started bouncing on her toes. She was so full of excitement that she couldn't keep still. "You know how I figured out how the Mirrorsieve worked, what spells were put on it?"

I chuckled at her. "Yes?"

"I put it back together and got it working again; Emmett volunteered a memory. It was fun, and kinda gross, to watch him hunting a bear, anyway"—she waved her hands around—"I got all the spells right and started working on that other thing?"

I was a little miffed at the memory Emmett had volunteered but nodded again.

"I got it working, I think. I need you to come and try it for me. Please, please, please, please?"

Picking her up, I walked out of the library and up the stairs, chuckling at her excited chatter. "You know you only have to ask once for me to help you out. Are you sure it's ready?"

"Uh huh." She nodded so hard I thought she was going to hurt herself. _It worked for me. I couldn't hear anything, and you know how good my hearing is._ I nodded. _Now, I want to see if you can hear anything._ At this, she tapped her temple. _I'm pretty sure I have the Occlumency part sorted, but until you test it, I won't know._

"Well, then let's see if it works, Pretty Girl."

We walked the rest of the way up the stairs, chatting about our work on the Patronus Charm. A week after we started, Isa managed to produce the first corporeal form, a beautiful snow leopard; two days later, I did the same thing. My snow leopard was larger and bulkier than Isa's, but they were a mated pair because they interacted with each other much like we did. The others had had sporadic successes, we were all still training hard on that, and other spells, with the same amount of determination.

"Do you think the others will get it?"

I nodded, kissing Isa's forehead. "I have no doubt they will. Even Neville is producing the non-corporeal form every single time. Although, I feel there's something missing there, between him and his wand."

"Me too." Isa nodded, agreeing with me. "But I don't know what it is."

I stepped into our suite to see what she had been working on sitting innocuously on the coffee table. Sitting down on the lounge, I stared at the small orange ball that looked suspiciously like a Himalayan Salt Lamp but without the electrical cord. It was perfectly round, sitting on what looked like a marble base, and streaked with white and brown lines all through it. It really was quite beautiful.

"Okay, Isa, explain this to me."

"I assume you recognize this?" I nodded to her question. "I borrowed it from the box downstairs in the laundry room that all your extra items were stored in. There are a few more in there, so if I can get it to work, I'll be able to duplicate it." Isa was babbling, but I could tell she was nervous about what would happen. When I didn't interrupt, Isa took a deep breath to calm down. "I took all of the electrical parts out of it but left the lightbulb in it; I needed that part. So, all you need to do is place your hand on the top of the ball for a few seconds until it lights up, then we'll see what happens."

"Ready?" I reached out, hovering my hand over the lamp.

"Ready," Isa whispered.

Placing my hand on the top of the ball, we waited for a few seconds. I took in a sharp breath when I could feel something shoot out from the ball to cover the entire room, but it was the sudden silence that shocked me the most. Because it wasn't just the absence of thoughts that caught me off guard but the total absence of sound.

I looked around; I couldn't hear anything. Not the gentle neighing of Cortesia and her family, or the owls in the owlery, or the pups chasing each other round the backyard. It wasn't until Isa tugged on my sleeve that I realized I couldn't even hear her thoughts.

I looked down at her to see her tapping her temple. I shook my head, telling her that I couldn't hear even her thoughts, causing her to frown. It was when she opened her mouth to ask me what I could hear that we realized I couldn't even hear her when she spoke out loud. I reached over to place my hand on the lamp, switching it off, taking my hand off when I felt the force that shut out the sound recede back into the lamp.

When I looked back at Isa, she had her arms crossed over her chest with a look of contemplation on her face. I was glad she didn't seem to be upset at a perceived failure.

"Huh, well that didn't work as well as I wanted it to."

I chuckled, causing her to look up at me. "I think it worked a little too well; you just need to figure out where to dial it back."

Isa smiled. "I guess you're right. Think it was the Occlumency?"

"No. I think it was whatever comes out of the lamp itself. While it covers the room in a ball, it doesn't encompass what's in it, it molds around things like furniture …"

"Or the people. It needs to bring all of it into the ball, not cover them up. Oh … okay. Thank you, Teddy!" Isa kissed my cheek then shooed me out of her workshop.

I chuckled walking down the stairs before calling for Emmett and Jasper. They met me at the door of the library. "How's plans for the basement/Isa's workshop coming along?"

"We're about to start ordering the materials we need. We'll be able to start as soon as they arrive," Jasper said. "Why?"

I chuckled again as I sat back in the seat I had been in before being interrupted by Isa. "Because I just got shooed out of my own suite by a determined little scientist. She needs her own space."

Emmett laughed. "Don't worry, bro; we have you covered. We're even going to give the little munchkin her own secret entrance." Emmett laughed again when there was a squeal from upstairs.

"I think she's going to enjoy that."

~*~UHS~*~

I had only wanted a small gathering of my friends and family for my birthday, but Esme pointed out we really only had a small group of friends, so to exclude one wouldn't be fair.

Isa knew she couldn't throw me a true surprise party because I could hear and see everything around me, but she made me promise not to take a peek. Isa would have been happier if her device had been working because then she could have had me block everything out, but the poor thing had fallen asleep the night before trying to get it to work.

The morning started with the fireplace in the family room lighting up again and again. I'd been told, with strict instructions, I was to stay in our suite and relax. I was not allowed to do any sort of work on my potions, or spells, but I could read and play my piano until everything was set up downstairs.

So as such, I was banished and couldn't even sneak a peek to see what she had planned, but I could hear her dictating everything that was going on downstairs. In code. You know things like "put that big thing over there," and "pull this thing here," and "Oh, don't forget to hang that one there, no there, up a little, to the right just a bit. Perfect!" She was doing a fabulous job of building my anticipation.

That was until she came bursting into our rooms just before lunch.

"Teddy! Time to come down for your party!"

I could hear the others laughing at her excitement, but she was too wound up to care. She ran to me, grabbed my hand, and started towing me to the door.

"All right, all right, you little monster," I growled. "You've kept me locked up all morning! I might be getting a little slow in my old age."

"You're not old, silly! You're only seventeen!"

I laughed, picking her up and sitting her on my shoulders. "I'll always be seventeen, Isa."

"I know. Now come on, everyone's waiting for you!"

I made my way down the stairs slightly faster than human pace, just to hear Isa beg me to go faster, but I stopped dead when I stepped into the family room. It had been completely transformed. The furniture had been moved back and a large circular table with chairs had been placed in the center, similar to King Arthur's round table, a book I had read to Isa recently. There were decorations, balloons, and even a banner that had _Happy Birthday, Edward!_ written on it hanging over the fireplace. It was already the best birthday party I could remember having.

Reaching up, I pulled Isa down and into my arms, placing a loving kiss on her forehead then the top of her head when I stood her on the ground. "Thank you, Isa. I didn't know I needed this."

The look Isa gave me would have made me tear up had I been able to. It was so full of love; I didn't know how she held it all in. _You are so welcome, Teddy._

We were broken out of our moment by everyone shouting, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I laughed. "Thank you!"

I spent the first few moments thanking everyone for coming and receiving hugs and kisses on the cheeks from the women before taking what looked like the throne at the table. Everyone else sat, except for Isa.

It took a minute, but eventually, everyone stopped talking and looked toward my girl.

"I want to thank you all for being here to celebrate Edward's birthday. We've had parties for me and for Harry, but we've never celebrated Edward's. Not to this extent anyway." Isa took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "The happiest day of my short life was when Mrs. Molly took me to America to meet my mate, the one who would, very shortly, come to mean everything to me. I want to celebrate the day that he was born, the day his mother gave birth to him. I love you, Edward, and happy birthday."

"Cheers, Edward!" Everyone chanted. Even Dobby and Kreacher were in on the act, but instead of clapping, they clicked their fingers, bringing an amazing amount of food to the table. What I noticed was that it was every single favorite of mine, something Isa had been grilling me about over the last few weeks.

"So this is what you were up to?" I tickled her side, causing her to break out into giggles. "Grilling me to find out what to feed me?"

Isa giggled again. "I just wanted to give you everything you enjoyed as a child or even as a teenager. But don't worry; the best is yet to come!"

And she was right. Lunch was a loud affair, with everyone chatting, laughing, and carrying on. The only exception was Ron; he was forced to be here. Molly really should have left him at home because he was trying to make some of us around him as miserable as he was. We all just ignored him, which made him that much angrier.

"Presents!" Isa squealed once lunch was done and the food cleared away. "Mine first!" She plonked a stack of … something on the table in front of me with an envelope on top.

I looked down at the pile of paper in front of me. From the first look, I couldn't tell you what they were, but upon closer inspection, I could see they were magazines. "What's all this?"

"Open the card first!" Isa was still so hyper, and we hadn't even gotten to the cake yet!

Picking up the card, I opened it to find one that Isa had made herself. I couldn't help the bark of laughter that came from me when she'd drawn Beauty and the Beast, but the funny part was she'd drawn herself as Belle—no surprise there—but she'd managed to integrate my features into Beast's and given him my coloring.

"Really, Isa?"

"What? It's not like I don't hear Emmett's comments every time I picked up a coloring book or the book that Mum got me!"

Everyone burst into laughter when I handed the card around, getting a glimpse of what she had done. In the envelope, I pulled out some confirmed subscription cards, and looking at them, the pile in front of me made much more sense.

"You got me subscriptions?"

"Uh huh. There's the Quibbler, which is Luna's dad's magazine; it really is quite interesting. Then there's Transfiguration Today; I'm hoping it might help you with the mint thing you're working on. There's also some in there on Animagi and Higher Potions, but the last one is Invigorating Inventions." This one caused more laughter around the table because we could all tell this one was for her, not for me. "What? It might inspire him!" she argued with an innocent look on her face. "And that pile there are a few back issues of each one, plus the current one, that way you're up to date, for the last few months anyway."

"Go on, baby girl, you tell 'em!" Emmett crowed from the other side of the table.

"Thank you, Isa." I leaned over to kiss her head. "I'm sure they'll _all_ come in handy."

After a few more laughs, more presents were handed my way. Some of them silly, but more often than not, they were useful. Sirius gave me some ingredients for my potions while Remus gave me some more vials in all manner of shapes and sizes. By far, my favorite came from Fred and George.

The present was already whistling when they handed it over. I looked at them skeptically because who knew what they'd put in it.

"It's not a bomb, we promise!" They both laughed at me.

I unwrapped it then pulled this cone-shaped device from a box full of tissue paper. It was colored in red, blue, and yellow swirls with the word Sneakoscope around it. The top of it was covered in a glass dome. Inside the dome was a ball and an upside down cone; the ball was spinning and rolling around inside, which was letting out the whistling sound.

I was fascinated with it, so much so that I almost missed Sirius raising his wand and waving it in my direction. The Sneakoscope shook for a moment, speeding up with its whistling before falling silent.

I looked up flabbergasted! "What did you do to my present?"

Everyone laughed at my expression. My mouth was hanging open, and I was looking between Sirius and the Sneakoscope in my hand.

"I just recalibrated it, that's all. A Sneakoscope is a type of Dark Detector; it'll spin and whistle if someone is doing something untrustworthy nearby, but it can also detect dark creatures, hence why it was spinning so fast. It can't tell the difference between you guys and traditional vampires," Sirius explained.

 _Hmm … that's something I never thought about before …_ I heard Isa contemplate before moving off to thinking about how that could affect anything she might create.

"Oh," I breathed. "So it'll still work?"

Sirius chuckled. "It will, yes. It just won't go off around you guys."

"Cool." I smiled, continuing to check it over, well that was until Esme called out the magic word. "Cake!"

Kreacher smiled, clicking his fingers, and I could see why; the cake that appeared in front of me was a work of art. On a silver platter was a large black cauldron over a bed of flickering, crackling, and popping flames; it was so lifelike. Around the fire and on the side of the cauldron were different colored ingredients, anything from worms to leaves to eyeballs. Inside the cauldron, the potion was bubbling and brewing, glowing from the inside, and spilling smoke all over the place. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

There was a derisive snort from the end of the table.

"Kreacher, this is magnificent!"

I heard Kreacher chuckle. "As much as Kreacher would love to take the accolades, Kreacher did not make it. Mrs. Esme and Mrs. Molly made the cake."

Everyone could hear the angry gasp that followed that comment.

My head spun around to Esme and Molly, who were sitting next to each other with smug smiles on their faces. "You guys did this?"

"Technically, I just placed the magic spells needed," Molly spoke. "Esme made the entire cake. After a little instruction from me, she became spectacular. I think if the teaching position doesn't work out, she should open a cake shop."

I stood and made my way around the table to kiss both Esme and Molly on the cheek. It was that action that finally tipped Ron over the precarious line he had in his mind.

 _What a fantastic cake, so why is it not for me? I'm not enjoying this birthday; we're not even friends, so why am I here? In fact, this whole summer has been one huge disappointment after the other,_ he thought as he stormed out of the house. His mind continued on about all the punishments Molly and Arthur had heaped on him. A lot of chores, all done by hand, nothing by wand. Most of them performed only by him because everyone else had things to do, and the more he threw his tantrums, the more chores he had to complete.

Finally, they were doing something about his attitude.

We continued on as if nothing had happened, and for the rest of the day, we celebrated my birth and had a lot of fun.

Oh, and the cake was delicious.

~*~UHS~*~

The day after my birthday, Jasper and Emmett got started building what would become Isa's Secret Laboratory and the Hidden Basement of Awesome (but dangerous) Artifacts, Emmett's words, not mine. Although it did have a ring to it.

With help from Sirius and Remus, they decided to build two little rooms then use the Undetectable Extension Charm to make them as big as needed. The reason for this was because of the age of Swan Manor; they didn't want to needlessly upset the integrity of the foundation. Even if magic could keep it together, we wanted to keep the original foundation intact as much as possible without it.

At this point, the Artifacts room only needed to be small because the mirror was staying in my potions room, so the only thing going in it would be the Mirrorsieve.

It was Isa's lab that was going to need to be bigger because she was going to have different workstations for different parts of the process. She'd sat down with Jasper and designed exactly how she wanted to set it up. But what I loved was that when asked where she wanted her secret entrance to be, she decided on the potions room. That way, she could leave the trap door open, and we could talk while she worked. We worked out that putting it in the corner, behind where the sliding bookshelf opened, was the best spot. Isa decided to hide it with a rug and a table when she wasn't down there.

When she opened the trap door, there was a little magical elevator that would take her the thirty feet down to the floor and bring her back up when she was done for the day.

There was only going to be one way to access the Artifacts room, and that was with a concealed door in Isa's lab. This was mostly because she was the only one who was going to work with them, so she had to have easy access, and the second reason was because this way we didn't need to build another entrance and then have to conceal it from everyone else.

It took them the better part of the day to dig out the two rooms with a small hallway in between because they didn't want to dig an alternate exit from the outside of the house to shuffle the dirt, even though Esme wasn't happy about it, they kept it as clean as possible. Kreacher was able to get rid of any that was left before Esme could spot it.

They lined the rooms, as well as insulating them, and painted them over the following days while we were training. When that was completed, they built all the tables and equipment that was able to be built. Sirius shrunk them all to bring them inside the lab; those tables wouldn't have fit on the elevator any other way. As an early birthday present for one of their little sisters, Emmett and Jasper were going to buy all the other equipment needed to stock it when we went to Diagon Alley.

Hermione was even getting in on the act and was painting up a storm. She'd discovered an affinity after going to a museum with Esme, who then bought out a small painting store for her and turned one of the small guest rooms into an art studio for Hermione. It was something they could do together, but also something—other than studying—that Hermione loved to do on her own. So she was painting Isa some landscapes for her birthday to hang in her lab so she could still see the outside world when she was in there.

And when it was all said and done, the only people allowed in her laboratory were Isa and me. Within the first few hours, she'd even managed to install a password to the elevator so nobody could get in there. It was hilarious because Jasper and Emmett kept trying to sneak up on her when she was saying it so they could find out what it was.

The funny thing about the password was it was something she used every day. So all she said when she stood on the elevator was, "See you later, Teddy," and the damn thing started to lower.

She was smart though because if I went down there, my password was different. I'd be up there when I called the elevator; once I stepped on I'd say, "I'll be there in a minute, Isa," and I'd join her. That was if I didn't jump without it.

So Jasper and Emmett heard her say the password every single time, but they never seemed to quite grasp the fact that she was saying it. Or which word it was.

I wondered if they would ever figure it out.

"Hey, Teddy? Can you come down here a sec?"

I walked over to the trap door in the floor when Isa called me. "What do you need, baby girl?"

I could almost hear the eye roll she gave me before she replied. "I need you to come down here, please?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the sarcastic tone she'd said, "please" in because, really, I should have known better. If Isa wanted something, she wouldn't have bothered asking for me; she would have asked for it.

I dropped down through the hole, landing lightly on my feet when I hit the bottom. "Wow, Isa, this place is looking great! Not quite finished yet though, is it?"

"Nope, not yet. But soon. Well, once we get to Diagon Alley anyway. But that wasn't why I asked you down here." She waved her hand around, then over the lamp she had shown me upstairs the first time. "I'm pretty sure I've got it figured out this time. It just took a little finessing on the spell I was using. We have to be so careful with how we word things."

"Yeah, it's the same with the potions; one wrong ingredient, too much or too little, and I could make an explosion. You want me to test it, again?"

"Please?"

I walked over to the station she was sitting at and placed my hand directly onto the lamp. I could feel the whoosh of power as it spread out, but it wasn't heavy like the last time. Once that was complete, I tried to range out my mind reading. I smiled when I couldn't hear anything from anyone above us.

 _Well, what's the verdict?_

"The verdict is you've done it, sweetheart!"

"Oh, you heard me! That means you can't hear anyone else, right?"

I laughed. "Right, Isa. The only person I can hear is you. I can't hear any noise coming from outside, at all."

I picked her up, hugging her and twirling her around, laughing.

"I did it!" she screamed. "Oh, put me down, Teddy."

I put her down and watched with understanding as she bent over and grabbed her knees, panting, much like I did the first time I made the Polyjuice Potion. It's such an unbelievable rush, then something so totally overwhelming, that all you can do is ride it. I sat down in front of Isa and waited until she could relax before pulling her into my arms where she just melted, almost falling asleep.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" I whispered.

Isa rolled her head then eyes up to me. "I'm so exhausted; I think I could sleep for a week."

I chuckled a little before picking her up, standing, and switching off the lamp. "How about we take this up to the bedroom where you can at least lie down for a nap in peace and quiet. Then tomorrow, you can dig out all the other ones buried in the storage room and make them for everyone else. How does that sound?"

"Not tomorrow," Isa whispered. "We've got training, and I kinda need the rest, but yeah, definitely the day after."

I stepped onto the elevator with her in my arms and the lamp in hers. "Sounds like a plan, Isa; sounds like a plan."

~*~UHS~*~

"That's it, everyone; you've done a fantastic job! You guys have done unbelievably well!" Remus called, getting all our attention. "I think, for now, we've finished working on the Patronus Charm; we can go back to learning duels and defending ourselves next lesson. Isa needs more work with her shield. Neville, you're not connecting to your wand as much as I'd like."

"Could that be because it's not mine?"

That brought us all up short; as far as we had known, Neville had had his own wand.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

Neville flushed under the attention that he was receiving. "Um … Gran didn't let me get a new wand. This one was my dad's."

It was almost ridiculously funny to see three grown men slap their own foreheads all at the same time, but that was what happened.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot. That wand isn't for you, Neville. It hasn't connected to you, and you didn't win it in a duel, so it's still your dad's." Remus sighed.

"You know, Remus, you would make a really great teacher. And the fact that you know more about dark creatures, and arts, than any of our previous teachers would be a great asset," I told him, to which I received a smile that was hiding a secret in return. His mind, of course, was a total blank; stupid occlumency.

"And that would be one of the reasons for my visit," Dumbledore rumbled from the back door. I hadn't heard him arrive, or the person standing next to him.

"Opi!" Isa squealed, running over to the lovely old man who had made our wands and given us our mating bracelets, giving him a hug. "How have you been?" she smiled up at him.

"I've been good, little Bella. Although you're not so little anymore. Growing into a wonderful young woman, I see."

By the time he'd given Isa a hug, I'd reached his side. Holding out my hand, I said, "It's good to see you again, Opi. I'm glad you found the place okay."

"You as well, Edward. And yes, your descriptions were easy to follow, and once I knew what to look for, I spotted it without trouble. It's nice to get out of my tower occasionally." He laughed. "But bringing those things you asked for seems to not be the only reason for my visit. I made this not too long ago; I knew I needed it, and I needed to bring it today. I didn't know what for until I heard this young man." He nodded in Neville's direction. "Neville, is it?"

Opi handed me a bag with the seeds I'd asked him about when I sent Athan to him with a letter the week before and made his way toward our friend.

"Yes, sir?" Neville answered, though it sounded much more like a question.

"I think this was made for you." Opi handed Neville a long black box that he pulled from a pocket inside his robes. "A wand not made for, or that has not chosen, you will never work properly for you. Your grandmother has done you a disservice by not getting you the proper tools you need."

With shaky hands, Neville reached out and took the box from Opi. It was comical to watch Draco, Ginny, Fred, George, Harry, and Hermione all gather around behind Neville, looking over his shoulders, to see what he'd received. Neville lifted the lid and revealed a wand that looked remarkably like the one that belonged to his father. There were differences, but they were so subtle that, if you weren't looking for them, you'd miss them. It was a dark cherry wood with a burnt brushed handle that looked like two pieces of rope wrapped around each other.

"May I see your father's wand, Neville?"

Neville handed it over without a word. From what I could hear, he'd never had something quite so nice before, but he pulled it out without hesitation. His thoughts revealed that he felt the same sensation Isa and I did when we held our wands for the first time; he could feel the connection and power flow from himself to the wand and back again.

"Hmm, thirteen inches, cherry, with a unicorn hair core. A very good wand, but not for you." Opi looked up from the wand to Neville. "While cherry is a very good wood for you, I have burnished the ends for a better feel. Your new wand has a thunderbird tail feather, which is strong; you won't have a problem now, young Neville. It's also a couple inches shorter than your father's, a much better fit, yes?"

"Yes, sir," Neville whispered.

Opi chuckled. "Good, now go have another shot at that Patronus you were casting before."

Dumbledore chuckled heartily at the look on Neville's face. Because Neville wasn't quite sure what to make of Opi, or the fact that he was holding a new wand that looked almost the same to his father's, but was better. He didn't know whether to hope for a difference or keep that hope small so as not to be disappointed.

Neville took a few steps back while Isa came to stand with me, made the wand movements, and called out, "Expecto Patronum!"

Instead of the grey foggy mist that Neville had been producing before, a beautiful shiny silver animal shot out of the end with surprising speed. It stunned Neville so much that he nearly dropped the wand while losing his concentration.

"Merlin's beard, I did it," he whispered, steadying himself again before almost shouting in excitement. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

This time, he watched in fascination as the beautiful fully-grown Rottweiler sprinted out of the end of his wand and circled around him playfully before slowly dissipating as he lowered his wand.

"MERLIN'S BEARD! I DID IT!"

With that, we all cheered for Neville. He was so excited to have a wand that worked for him. This one spell had given him the biggest boost of confidence I had ever seen.

It was awesome how we all had a fully formed corporeal Patronus now, from Isa's and my snow leopards, to Hermione's playful otter. The twins had matching cheeky foxes and Ginny had a beautiful horse. Harry's was interesting because his had turned out to be exactly like his father's, and we couldn't quite figure that one out, but it was Draco's that was the most fascinating. His was rare; apparently not many had a Patronus like his. Draco ended up producing a young dragon. Something James was sure would grow as he got older. Our three teachers speculated that it was because of how strong Draco had to be to live his double life, but we may never know for sure.

After we'd finished cheering, we spun around to the two men on the back verandah.

Dumbledore chuckled again when we all seemed to speak at once, holding up his hands. "Wait, please wait. I have just come to deliver all of these." Out of his robes he pulled all of our Hogwarts letters, including Draco's, even though he didn't seem surprised to see him there. _It seems I have discovered your helper. Can you trust him?_

I nodded to Dumbledore, opening up my letter, and discovering …

"Oh, we get to go to Hogsmeade this year?" Isa and Hermione squealed, reading the permission slip placed in the envelope. "That's so cool."

"Mister Malfoy, can you come here please?" Opi interrupted the excited chatter going on in the back yard. Draco nervously stepped up to Opi. I watched as Opi did the same thing to Draco that he'd done to me when I saw him for the first time. He circled him, reading his aura. "Hmm, very interesting. You are so bogged down with what goes on at home that it affects you more than you should let it. You've found a very good group to align yourself with, and I promise that your soul is as clean as it could be. You have no need to worry."

I could see all the "adults" relax because of Opi's words. It was like they hadn't fully believed until right that moment that Draco was trustworthy.

"All of you that I have not made wands for, come here; let me look at them."

While Opi inspected everyone's wands, Dumbledore walked over to where Isa and I were now standing with Remus, Sirius, and James.

"For the other reason I'm here," Dumbledore started, "Edward is right. We need a knowledgeable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and I can't think of anyone better than you." He handed Lupin an envelope. "Thank you for taking the position, Remus. Here is the notarized copy of your contract, as requested."

Sirius and James slapped their friend on the back, congratulating him at the same time as ribbing him for not telling them that he'd taken it.

"How did you keep this from me?" I asked

Remus was just about to answer but was interrupted by a pop and fast footsteps running through the house.

"Albus, what is the meaning of this?" Molly asked, waving some parchment around as she stumbled out the back door.

"What do you mean, Molly dear?"

"What do you mean that Ron is being held back? Why does he have to repeat his second year at Hogwarts?"

There were more than a few gasps around the back verandah.

We watched with trepidation as Professor Dumbledore pulled in a deep breath, preparing to answer Molly. "It means that due to failing just about every subject last year, Ron now has to repeat year two at Hogwarts."

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmmm, lots more information in this chapter. This year will sure be interesting.**

 **Let me know what you think about Ron? See you in a fortnight!**


	4. Chapter Three - Summer Part III

**Hey everyone! I hope everyone has had a good fortnight, and things are going well on the lead up to Christmas.**

 **I want to say a big thank you to Pienuniek for all of her help. And a big thank you to Sally Hopkinson who managed to beta this chapter in the last few days because I forgot to send the chapter to her until it was almost too late. Thank you, ladies.**

 **I do not own Twilight and Harry Potter. They belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **I'll let you get to it, see me at the bottom.**

* * *

 **04 – Chapter Three – Summer Part III**

"Failed? He failed everything?" Molly whispered, overwhelmed.

Sirius and James each grabbed an arm when Molly seemed to falter and guided her to one of our outdoor chairs, with Dumbledore bobbing down in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Molly, but yes. He didn't tell you?"

I looked around at everyone on the back verandah before shuffling them inside. It really was none of our business.

"Oh dear, Ron is going to be in so much trouble," Isa whispered.

"I don't know if he can get in more trouble, but this might wake him up a little."

"Mr. Opi?" Ginny asked, sitting in the family room.

"Yes?"

"Why were you looking at our wands?"

Opi chuckled. "Ah, I was seeing if they were perfectly matched to their owners, and they are. Your wands all chose very well. But, Edward, I'm sorry to have just handed those seeds over without any explanation. You are going to need someone who has a very green thumb to grow those, and not just any green thumb, one with experience in magical plants."

I frowned. "Why's that?"

"Because these are old, delicate, and need to be cultivated properly. Only a true master with plants would be able to do that."

"Well then, in that case," I turned to our new family member because that was truly what he has become and held them out. "Neville, how would you like to have your own greenhouse here?"

"Me? Really? Here?"

Esme walked in at that moment. "Yes, Neville. All the children in our family have something they like to do or pursue. Is that something you would enjoy?"

 _They think of me as family?_ Neville nodded so much that it caused us all to chuckle at him.

"Okay, good; we'll have that built as soon as possible. Now, what about you, Draco? What do you enjoy?" Esme asked.

 _Huh, me?_ "Oh, I'm fine, Miss Esme. The library is a wonderful place for me."

 _He reads?_ Ginny thought. I could hear the wistful tone in her thoughts.

"Very well. What's this I hear about Hogwarts' letters arriving?"

Hermione and Isa let out a bit of a squeal before running over to Esme and talking in that fast way girls sometimes do when they're excited.

Esme laughed. She so did love it when the girls were this excited, especially about learning. "Why don't you grab Edward's letter too, and we'll go into the kitchen for cookies while I look them over? What about you, Ginny?"

"Actually, I think we need to go home," Molly said as she came in the back door. "Thank you for everything, Esme, everyone, but we have something we need to deal with."

"Of course, Molly. If you need anything, just let us know." Esme gave Molly a hug while we said our goodbyes. I handed over my letter when Isa came to kiss me on the cheek before Isa, Hermione, and Esme disappeared into the kitchen.

Once I sat back down, I turned to face Dumbledore. "Any luck having the dementors removed from school, professor?"

"None, I'm afraid. Minister Fudge is adamant that Lestrange will come after Harry, and that means the dementors need to stay to guard the school. They aren't allowed on the grounds, so that's a good thing."

I snorted. "I don't know how he thinks the dementors can catch them, considering he's already gotten past them once before. I think he'd be better off with actual wizards guarding the gates."

"Aurors," Sirius corrected.

"Bad wizard catchers, I know. Charlie was one." I didn't bother explaining how I knew to their shocked faces. "Why doesn't he put Aurors there instead?"

"Aurors need sleep, Edward. There just aren't enough of them to hunt, sleep, and be on guard duty. The dementors, however, do not have such human frailty. That's why the minister is pushing for the dementors."

I nodded, accepting that. "And having vampires on the payroll, that don't need sleep, and can have more coming in for the nightshift wouldn't be acceptable?"

Sirius, James, Lupin, and I watched as Dumbledore froze. It was obvious from his posture that he didn't think of that. "I think I need to make another trip to the ministry. Don't count on Fudge changing his mind, but I may take your family up on that offer for the night, even just around the castle. Talk to them, and let me know."

I nodded. "Absolutely, sir. But I doubt they'll have a problem with it."

Dumbledore stood to go; Draco stood with him. "Actually, sir, could I come with you? My father is at the ministry today, and I'm supposed to meet him around now."

"Of course, Draco. Shall we be off?"

Draco nodded, following Dumbledore to the front door, shutting it after a short wave.

"Ugh," I groaned, rubbing my face as I leaned back into the chair relaxing. "What is Fudge's problem?"

The others around chuckled, but it was Opi who answered my question. "Fudge is insecure about his position. He knows it can be taken from him, and he's trying to do what is best. But like a lot of other people who have been in charge, he thinks he's always right, and that makes his word law. He's stopped listening to the people, and by that, I mean ordinary people."

My head lolled to the side to look at him. "And just how many of these have you seen?"

"Too many to count." Opi smirked. There was something in that smirk, something that he wasn't saying. "For now though, I must also take my leave. Something is niggling, and I need to work."

"I'll walk you out." I stood, following him to the door. "Thank you for bringing those seeds for me. I know Neville will take very good care of them."

Opi patted me on the shoulder as he walked past. "I know that he will. I also know you will have a very successful year with your potions; I feel it."

"Thank you, Opi. Will we see you soon?"

"You never know, young Edward. You never know." I watched with mild interest as Opi, who was spritely for his age, seemed to move easier before spinning and apparating away.

I had turned and was closing the door when I heard someone calling for me. "Edward! Edward, please wait! Don't shut the door!"

I spun back to see Ginny landing with a thud, awkwardly dismounting and running toward me. "Edward, is Carlisle here? We need his help, or your help, please?"

I caught her around the shoulders, bobbing down in front of her. "Whoa, Ginny, calm down." I could hear everyone else gathering behind me. "Carlisle isn't here, but we can send for him," I blurted out when she paled. "What's going on?"

"It's Mum!" she cried. "She and Ron had a big fight when we got home, so Fred, George, and I went to our rooms. Once things settled down, I went to get a glass of water, and I found Mum in the kitchen, frozen! Ron was nowhere to be found, but I don't think he could have done it; he hasn't got a wand."

Isa stepped around me, pulling Ginny into a hug while Esme ran to send a note to Carlisle at St. Mungo's to meet us at the Burrow.

"Let's go. Who's coming?" I spun to face those behind me.

"Edward, leave Ginny and the girls here. Take Sirius, James, and Remus, just in case." What Esme wasn't saying was _just in case something is seriously wrong, we want to protect Ginny from that._

I nodded, looking down at Isa, who was nodding. She wanted to stay with Ginny.

"Got it; come on, guys."

The four of us ran out the door. Remus grabbed my arm and pulled me into space, only to apparate a few hundred yards away from the Burrow.

"Edward," Sirius called, "we're going to do a perimeter check; you head straight in and see what's going on."

"Got it!" I bolted for the door when Sirius and James shifted to their animagus forms while Remus took off at a run.

I paused just inside the door, not only using my extra senses, but looking at the wonderful clock located in the family room. I noticed the arms with Fred, George, and Percy were all on the home section. Ginny's was on the neighbor's tab, Arthur was at work, and Bill, Charlie, and Ron were just away from home. I listened to the thoughts of the twins and Percy, only to realize they didn't know anything; Ginny must have come straight to us instead of calling her brothers. Ron was nowhere to be found. I couldn't hear him anywhere; that was probably why his hand stood on away.

Gingerly, I stepped through the door to find Molly exactly like Ginny had said. She was frozen in the kitchen. I made my way around the table checking under it, around it, and through all the cupboards as I walked toward her. There was a frying pan in the sink that was magically washing itself and a set of knitting needles in the living room knitting one of her jumpers for Alice's store.

After checking all around her, I made my way toward Molly, realizing she had a book in her hands, and she was looking down at it. Remus, Sirius, and James stepped through the door as I bent down to see what the book was, only to roll my eyes at the title. _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests._

The fire gave a whoosh just as I was reaching for the book.

"Wait, Edward, don't touch that," Carlisle called out.

"What, why?"

"Because we've had a string of these people being brought in. I want to try and understand why they're becoming frozen."

"What happens to them?" James asked.

"Oh, they snap out of it eventually, usually with a loud noise or a shock, but we can't figure out why they do it in the first place."

James nodded. "Then let's check everywhere in these rooms first."

I didn't follow them as they spread out because I'd already done that. I instead focused on Molly herself. Apart from the fact that she was frozen, and had spent some time crying, the only thing different from earlier was the book.

I leaned over the book looking to see what was written on the page, only to see that whatever had been written there had disappeared.

"Uh, Dad? Could the books be having something to do with it?"

Carlisle frowned before coming over to have a look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, a lot of people believed all of Lockhart's lies. Some of them still believe, regardless of the news that was reported, and they use his books like bibles. But something Isa and I discovered when we checked out the publishing house was that the words were disappearing on the pages. We figured it was the people getting their memories back, but what if there was an adverse effect if people were reading them at the same time?" I pointed to Molly.

Carlisle looked over Molly, assessing her stance, her posture, and the fact that she was looking down at the book. "I suppose it's possible. Maybe their brains need to reset what they had read to what they know."

"Or it could be as simple as the potion still affecting them. The words no longer bring out a reaction, so all we get is this blank stare," Remus hypothesized.

"That's entirely poss …" Carlisle began only to be interrupted by Percy.

"What are you guys doing here? And what happened to Mum?"

"Where's Ginny? And Ron?" the twins asked next.

The five of us all looked up to the stairs where the voices had come from. I spoke up first. "Ginny came to us a while ago, in tears and worried about your mother. She told us that Molly and Ron had gotten in a fight …" The boys nodded. "After Ginny came down to get a drink, she found her like this, with Ron nowhere to be seen."

"I know where he might have gone," Fred piped up. "George and I can go get him while you guys sort out our mum."

Carlisle nodded. "We can do that. Why don't you go with them, Percy?"

Percy just nodded, following the twins outside. He was a bit unnerved that he hadn't come to check on his mother after the fight with Ron, and that this had happened. We waited until they were out of my hearing range before turning back to Carlisle.

"Edward, find something we can use to wash Molly's hands. Remus and Sirius, prepare to catch her if she stumbles, and, James, find something to cover your hands because I'm handing you the book once I pull it from her."

We all nodded to Carlisle's instructions, doing exactly as he said. I found a towel beside the sink and soaked it in the water coming from the tap.

"Ready?" Carlisle asked when we were all in place.

"Ready."

Carlisle had taken another of Molly's hand towels and covered his hands. Carefully, he moved forward, shutting the book before lifting it from her hands and passing it over to James, who promptly wrapped the book up and put it off to the side.

By the time I'd finished washing Molly's hands carefully, she was starting to come around, and the boys were coming back inside. Ron ignored us all and stomped all the way up to his room on the top floor while the other three stopped to hug their mum.

But it was Molly who spoke first. "What happened?"

James, Sirius, and Remus went back to Swan Manor to let not only Ginny and the others know that her mother was okay and but that it was safe to come home. By the time Ginny made it home, we had explained to Molly what had happened and had confiscated any copies of Lockhart's books still in their home. We had to get rid of them.

Carlisle and I took the time to run home but I had to ask a question that had been bugging me since we figured out what had happened.

"Are you going to recommend an advisement in The Daily Prophet telling everyone what has been going on?"

Carlisle nodded. "I am, and if they, or the ministry, don't do it, then I may just do it myself. People have to know not only what the books are doing but how to help their loved ones if it happens to them."

We were both silent after that, just enjoying the run home.

~*~UHS~*~

A week after the ministry ran Carlisle's warning on the front page of The Daily Prophet, Isa sang, "We're going to Diagon Alley today!" as she came into our suite where I was getting our bag ready to go. The epidemic of frozen people reading Lockhart's books had stopped as fast as it had started. Thank goodness for that.

"I know!" I sang back. "Are you, Hermione, and Neville ready to go?"

Neville had gotten permission from his grandmother to come to Diagon Alley with us today; apparently, she had something important on so it was much easier for us to take him than her.

"Yup. We're just waiting on you again, old man." Isa giggled, dodging me as I lunged for her. "Grab the bag and let's go."

I raced after her, grabbing the bag as I dove over the couch, chasing her until she bolted into the fireplace. Isa laughed again at my shocked face before calling, "Diagon Alley!" and throwing the floo powder, disappearing in a shock of green flames.

My mouth must have fallen open in shock because those who were left in the house just laughed at me. "I can't believe she did that!"

Esme patted my shoulder in sympathy. "You should be so proud of her, Edward; she went there all by herself. Bella didn't know that Jasper was already there. You've given her the strength to move past her fears and do it on her own. Just don't bring it up unless she does."

I nodded before stepping into the fireplace after her.

Stepping out into Diagon Alley, it was odd not to see the Weasleys or Harry, Shane, Sirius, and Remus waiting for us. We were running a little bit late today, mostly because Isa had something she was working on, other than preparing the Silencing Lamps, for the rest of us. I had no idea what it was, but I was letting her have her secrets for now. Besides, I'd spent some quality time with my piano, something I hadn't done a lot of this summer.

Besides, we were catching up with everyone later.

I found Isa standing off to the side, regaling not only Jasper, but Neville as well, of her heroic dash—her words, not mine—through the house to escape my dastardly clutches. Her back was to me, so I snuck up behind her and grabbed her by the waist, causing her to shriek really loudly.

"My dastardly clutches, Isa? Really?"

Isa smacked me once for good measure. "Don't sneak up on me like that! And yes, your dastardly clutches." She giggled. "I was just trying to make it sound interesting!"

I chuckled, letting her go. "Well then, maybe you should have told it like a fairy tale. Made yourself the princess who was escaping the evil troll trying to marry her."

Jasper and Neville laughed while Isa gasped. "I could never pretend you were a troll!" I started to smile smugly at that. "You're far too pretty to be a troll. An evil elf maybe, but never a troll."

"Why, you!" Isa shrieked as I lunged for her again, but she escaped me by running behind Jasper, who was killing himself laughing.

"Help, Jasper! Help!"

"No!" he got out between chuckles. "You brought this on yourself."

By the time Hermione, Esme, and Emmett made it through the fireplaces, Isa and I were making a spectacle of ourselves. I had her thrown over my shoulder, tickling her mercilessly, causing her to shriek and laugh loudly.

Esme gave us her patented mom smile, saying she was proud of us, but we had better knock it off before she got all embarrassed.

"We'd better stop, Isa."

"Oh, why?" I spun around so she was facing Esme and not Jasper and Neville. "Oh, hi, Mummy!"

Jasper, Neville, and I all chuckled at the innocent tone Isa had put on.

"Don't you 'hi, Mummy' me, young lady. You've been pushing all of Edward's buttons lately. What has gotten into you?"

I could feel Isa's attempt at a shrug. "Just trying to have some fun. We've had a pretty serious summer so far; I just wanted to put some fun into it."

"And that's fine when we're at home. Not out here in public." Then Esme smiled. "Well, not to this extent anyway."

"Okay, Mummy. Teddy, put me down!" Isa demanded. "You must behave now."

I scoffed, standing her in front of me. "Me? I'm not the one who said I was too pretty to ever be a troll."

Emmett, who had only been paying a small amount of attention, caught that comment and guffawed, loudly. He walked over, slapping me on the back and towing Isa away from me. "She's so right, Edward; you are far too pretty to ever be a troll."

We laughed and joked our way down Diagon Alley to Gringotts' bank where we, at least, attempted to be quiet. I do say attempted; not all of us were successful. Before carrying on again once we were out.

"Before we go too far, do any of you need anything from Scribbulus Writing Implements?" Esme asked us. We ended up going in because Isa and Hermione needed some more parchment, and Neville needed some ink. His grandmother never gave him enough. Then we traipsed over to Flourish and Blotts.

"Everyone has their book lists?" Esme asked, to which we nodded. "Good, then meet me at the register when you're all done."

Neville started at that. "Uh, Esme. My gran gave me money."

"And that's good. You keep that for yourself. Meet me at the register when you're done." That was all she said before she wandered off into the store.

"Is she serious?" Neville turned to Emmett.

"As a heart attack, kid. Better get used to it." Emmett followed Esme into the store. "Oh, Edward, you have to come see this!"

Jasper had already wandered into the store, going off on his own to see if there were any history books he hadn't read. Esme was checking out other muggle studies books, although I wasn't sure what she hadn't read. But it was Emmett that the four of us aimed for.

"What are we looking at, Emmett?"

He snickered. "Your textbooks for Care of Magical Creatures." He waved his hand toward a large cage in the window of Flourish and Blotts.

"Why are they in a cage?" Isa asked. But the question was answered before any of us opened our mouths because the damn things started snapping, growling, and fighting among themselves. "Oh, my God!"

Our mouths dropped open in surprise as one book seemed to pin another, only to start to tear it to shreds.

"These books! Whose idea was it to use these books as a teaching guide! We still haven't found the hundred copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility, which cost a fortune," the shopkeeper grumbled, coming over to rattle the cage and knock the two fighting books apart with a broomstick. "Hogwarts? Come to get your schoolbooks?"

"Yes, sir." We all nodded.

His shoulders slumped. "How many of you need this book?" He pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

I gulped. "Uh, all of us?" My answer sounded like a question.

"Five?"

"No. No. Just the four of us." I pointed to Hermione, Isa, Neville, and myself. "But maybe I can help. My skin is impenetrable; they aren't going to hurt me. Do you have something I can wrap around them so they don't attack anyone else?"

"Thank you. And there are some lengths of rope next to the cage. I really appreciate it." The harried shopkeeper ran off before anything else could be said.

"Uh, how about Neville and I run off to get the other books we all need while you and Bella deal with those." Hermione pointed at the cage, backing up a few steps.

"Yeah," Neville agreed. "Our hands aren't quite as impenetrable as yours. Hand over your book lists."

Isa giggled a little before handing over the lists. "We'll see you at the register, you big chickens."

Emmett laughed at her before ambling away after Neville and Hermione. It seemed that we weren't going to be left alone while out and about, especially Neville, but really, did they expect Lestrange to just pop up in Diagon Alley, full of witches and wizards?

Isa and I walked over to the cage in the window.

"How do you want to do this?"

I chuckled darkly. "I have no idea."

The books seemed to react much like animals did when in the presence of an alpha predator, which caused Isa and me to look at each other.

"Hmm, maybe you should let out a little growl; they might calm down, and then we can tie them all up."

I nodded, agreeing with my girl, before following her advice. We received all sorts of weird looks from the shoppers around us, but all the books sort of froze in response before lining up around the cage.

"Look, Teddy, you have your own little band of soldiers!" Isa giggled. "I bet you could get them to do anything you wanted"—her voice lowered—"maybe we should send them after Lestrange?"

I chuckled at her suggestion before reaching into the cage for the first book. Isa handed me the first of the ropes, and for the next fifteen minutes or so, we wrapped up each and every copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_.

Isa and I made it to the register just as Hermione and Neville arrived with the rest of our books. The harried storekeeper bustled over when he saw us waiting.

"You got them all out okay?"

I smiled. "And we managed to make it a little easier for you too."

We watched as he glanced over to where the cage of books were now sitting quietly, all tied up. "Oh, thank Merlin. You have no idea how many paper cuts and bite marks we've had since we got those things in. I'm so grateful."

"It wasn't a problem. I could imagine those things weren't pleasant to deal with."

"All done, kids?" Esme asked, walking up behind us.

"We are, Mum. Have you finished?"

Esme nodded. "I have. Can you check us out please?"

After checking out, we walked out to find a really big crowd had surrounded Quality Quidditch Supplies while we were shopping. And by crowd, I meant mostly school-aged children who were standing with their noses almost pressed to the glass. Although, there were some dads there too from what I could see.

"What's going on over there?" Neville asked, peering over the girls' shoulders.

Listening to what was going on, I discovered what was so exciting. "It seems there's been a new prototype of broom released. It's supposed to go from zero to two-hundred and forty kilometers per hour in ten seconds. They're calling it the Firebolt."

"We have to look at that!" Emmett said excitedly. "I really wish I could fly a broom."

The girls didn't seem as excited about seeing the broom as us boys, so Esme suggested that they head off to get a pet for Hermione. I leaned down and kissed Isa on the head, watching her walk off with Hermione and Esme before making my way to the Quidditch Supply store with the other boys. Even Neville seemed to be excited.

And it was a stunning broom. It wasn't sleek and sexy like the Nimbus range. In fact, the head of the broom was reminiscent of the school brooms Isa and I had tried to ride during our flying lessons first year. The twigs, while being hand selected and placed, were not the aerodynamic design of the Nimbus. The handle seemed to be bumpy, with two-toned coloring, but the best part that I could see were the ornamental foot holders that allowed for flatter flying, creating less wind resistance. I didn't see how this was faster than Harry's broom. How was something that looked messier and unkempt supposed to be faster than one that was slick and sleek?

I didn't understand at all. _Hmph, besides my broom was faster._

 _Teddy! Look at this!_

I tuned in through Isa to see they were still in the pet store; in fact, they'd been distracted on the way there and had only just walked in through the doors. But who was in there was interesting. It seemed that Ron's rat was rather ill, and he was there to buy it some rat tonic. But listening in to the conversation that Ron was having, something struck me as odd. As far as I knew, ordinary garden rats only lived five years at most; how was it that Scabbers had lived for thirteen?

I tried to tune into his thoughts, but either he didn't have any—which was ridiculous because he wasn't a school rat—or there were just too many minds for me to isolate them.

Looking at Scabbers, through Isa, the poor thing really looked ill. He was scrawny, shaking, and seemed to have lost a lot of fur. His whiskers were drooping. I hadn't seen a more miserable rat in all my life.

When Ron noticed Isa, Hermione, and Esme were in the store, he paid for his rat tonic and stormed out of the store. Nearly leaving poor Scabbers behind. I shook my head, coming back to the excited chatter of Emmett, Jasper, and Neville.

 _Everything okay?_ Jasper asked.

I nodded. "Isa just wanted me to see something. Are you guys going to stay here while I go to the apothecary?"

"Yeah, we'll meet you at The Leaky Cauldron after you're done?"

"No worries. Let Isa know where I've gone?"

"Yup." Jasper patted me on the shoulder before turning back to an excited Emmett and Neville.

I wandered down Diagon Alley, looking at all the stores, just window-shopping. Even after two years, and several trips, it still amazed me that this was just here, in the middle of London. I said hello to a few friends from Hogwarts who were doing their shopping too, and waved at Alice through the window—she was busy like always—then stepped in through the door of Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary.

"Ah, Edward. Good to see you! Back again?"

"Good day, Mr. Mulpepper. How have you been?"

"I am well. What can I help you with today?"

I smiled. "I'm just replenishing some of my stores and looking for other things. Have you got any rare potion books?"

Mr. Mulpepper's brows furrowed as he thought about my question. "I'm not sure. Check the bookshelves over there while I go check some of the ones that are stored in the back. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

"No, nothing. Just rare potions, old ones. Anything that may have been forgotten about."

"Let me see what I've got." Mr. Mulpepper walked through the door behind the counter while I grabbed a basket and started wandering around the store. I found a few things I hadn't experimented with before, and there were a couple books I'd never seen, but most of the things I picked up were ingredients that I'd already used.

I picked up this year's potions packs for Isa, Neville, and Hermione, as well as myself because the last thing we wanted was to have Professor Snape on our backs because our stores weren't up to snuff. He'd have a field day taking points from Gryffindor, so I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

In the far back corner of a shelf, that probably hadn't seen much attention lately, was a really old, dusty jar with powdered dragon scales. The dragon that had donated the scales was rare, very rare. It was the Antipodean Opaleye, one of the rarest in Great Britain because it was originally from Australia. From what I had read, even the Australian wizarding community wasn't sure there were any left.

This particular breed was considered one of the most beautiful dragons ever discovered. With pearly scales that lined its body, and glittering multi-colored eyes with no pupils, it was a combination not found in any other breed.

Through the dust, I could see the glittering powder shimmer and twinkle in the shifting candlelight. I couldn't wait to use it.

"What are you planning on doing with these potions, Edward?"

"I'm looking for things that can be modified. Ones to help others but may not be made anymore because the ingredients have become extinct. If I can modify them, maybe they can become useful once more."

Mr. Mulpepper placed a few books on the counter as well as some seed packets. "I'm glad to hear that. I feel much better about selling them to you now that I know that you're going to use them for the betterment of wizard kind. Here, I'll even chuck in these seeds for free. I don't know what you can use them for, but it's better than them collecting dust."

I rifled through the seeds, noting that some of them were the same that Opi had brought me, and some were different. "Thank you, Mr. Mulpepper. I'll take all of these too."

He rang me up just as Isa stepped through the door. _Got everything?_

I nodded to her question before thanking Mr. Mulpepper and following her out the door. Alice and Rose had joined our little group to head over to The Leaky Cauldron for dinner.

"Will Dad be joining us, Mum?" Hermione asked as she tapped on the wall leading to the courtyard at the back of the pub.

"He should already be inside. I told him we'd all meet him there."

We found not only Carlisle, but Shane and his motley crew, along with most of the Weasleys in a separate dining room that I didn't even know The Leaky Cauldron had. In fact, the only one who seemed to be missing was Molly. She bustled in from the direction of the kitchens not long after we arrived, handing something over to Percy.

"Thank you, Mother," Percy said with a snobbish air to his voice. "Wherever did you find it?"

"Yes, Mother," Fred and George imitated. "Where was it?"

We watched on in silence. It was like watching a car wreck; we couldn't take our eyes away from it.

"Boys." Molly pointed at the twins. "Percy, dear, I found it near the door to the kitchens. How on earth did it get there?"

Percy pinned a rather fancy brooch, shaped like the letters HB, on his lapel. "I have no idea. One moment, it was on my shirt, and the next, it was missing. Here, Mother, let me get your chair."

George pushed Percy out of the way. "No, Mother, allow me?"

"Allow me, Mother?" Fred was at it this time.

 _What is going on?_ Isa wondered. _Percy is being an even bigger prat than normal._

I listened in on the thoughts around me. "It seems Percy has been selected as Head Boy this year, giving him more responsibilities than normal. But he's also aiming for a job higher up in the ministry, so he's trying to act accordingly."

"And the twins?" Emmett whispered down the table.

I snorted. "Are just being obnoxious to their older brother. They think he's being too serious and are doing their best to lighten him up."

Everyone on our side snickered occasionally with the attempts of Fred and George. They really were quite funny, without being too mean. Although from what I heard, they were the ones to hide Percy's HB badge earlier because they thought it was going to his head.

I had to agree with them.

After a rowdy dinner, that made me glad we were in a room away from the patrons, Esme and Molly stood up.

Esme started. "Molly and I have been talking. Now, most of the time, we don't get to celebrate your birthdays all that much."

Molly continued, "Because more often than not, you guys are away at school when your birthdays roll around. So what we've decided to do is that, from now on, we're going to have one big party to do just that."

"When we do our annual trip to Diagon Alley, we're going to come here to The Leaky Cauldron and have a birthday party for everyone. And we'll make one of our special cakes."

Esme and Molly moved to the side to allow a couple people from the kitchen float in this enormous cake. It received a gasp from everyone around the table, even the grumpy bum who was sitting at the end with his dad. They had outdone themselves with this cake.

On the table, in front of us all, was a complete replica of our home away from home. Hogwarts Castle. Complete with moving water in the Black Lake, smoke coming from the chimneys, and even a handful of students moving about in the courtyard.

"If you two get any better at making these, I think we're going to have to start taking orders. You should hear what the staff are saying in the kitchen," Carlisle complimented them. "Stunning as usual. And Happy Birthday, everyone!"

We all cheered, congratulating them on a job well done, making Molly blush.

Arthur clapped, getting everyone's attention, waved his wand, and cut the cake into pieces. "Dig in!"

~*~UHS~*~

During the last few weeks of summer, Sirius had started going out into public more often as himself. One of his first outings had been to the bank to secure the Black family fortune from his cousin Jacob; it was a good thing he was able to get the needed signatures so easily. It wasn't long after he came back that the rumors started. Poor Sirius would be bombarded wherever he went. He put on a stoic face in public, but I could see that, occasionally, people would get to him, and when that happened, he went for a run in his animagus form. The people, though, were relentless, at least to start with. They wanted to know where he'd been, what happened to James, if he'd known about Lily and who they thought was Harry. But most of all, why he only come back AFTER Harry had been revealed.

Eventually though, when he refused to answer their questions, and he had started to be escorted by a rather large vampire, those who were most curious backed off. After all, all they wanted was the gossip. Emmett enjoyed acting the menacing bodyguard, though.

The build of Neville's greenhouse had started the day after our trip to Diagon Alley. While we had continued on with our training. Neville and Draco were very much distracted by the way Emmett and Jasper moved and built at vampire speed, so much so, that we let them sit out for an afternoon just to watch.

Once the outside had been completed, Neville walked around inside with Jasper to organize where things needed to go. It was very similar to the way Jasper had handled the build of Isa's laboratory. And a few days later, Neville had planted the first few batches of seeds. There were strict instructions on how to care for them that he was leaving with Kreacher and Esme because Kreacher promised to check on them every day, as did Esme, when we went back to Hogwarts, but if there were any problems they were to contact him straight away.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" Isa stood in front of all of us in the family room with a box in front of her. We were home by ourselves today; it was wonderful only having the minds of our family of nine around me for a change.

Once Isa had everyone's attention, she continued. "As everyone knows, I've started experimenting on things. I want to create things that will help the wizarding world and maybe help them catch up to the muggle one a little bit." Here she snorted because that was going to be a task and a half. "But to start, I made something for us."

She pulled the first lamp out of the box, handing it to Emmett and Rose. "We all know how good my hearing is"—the others nodded to her comment—"there are going to be things that I don't want to hear as I grow, or at all for that matter." Isa snorted. "And as much as I know you don't want to think about it, eventually there will be things I don't want any of you to hear."

Isa handed out the rest of the lamps, including giving one to Hermione.

"What I have here is your old salt lamps. As you can see, I've removed all the electrical components except for the lightbulbs, and I've made them into something else. What these are now are Bubble Lamps." Isa placed ours down on the center of the coffee table. "What you do is place your hand on the top like this." Isa demonstrated and waited for the others to feel the whoosh of the bubble. "And it emits a bubble that encases everything in the room. You're unable to hear what's going on outside the bubble, and anyone outside the bubble can't hear what's going on inside.

"But once you've touched it again, the bubble retracts, and all outside sounds are available again." Isa demonstrated, pulling the bubble back in.

I chuckled; the only sounds I could hear were Kreacher in the kitchen and our menagerie of animals in the backyard. Our family was completely stunned. For a few minutes anyway.

Then sound just exploded out of everyone. Jasper wanted to run more tests to see if emotions could be blocked, but other than that, the whole family was excited. Listening to the activities of our family members wasn't something any of us enjoyed, and being able to close that out would be a relief. I laughed heartily as Carlisle, of all people, leaped forward and pulled Isa into his arms, hugging her for all she was worth.

If there was one other person who hated hearing everything his family members did as much as me, it was Carlisle. The relief in his thoughts was palpable, and he couldn't have been prouder to have my Isa as his daughter than he was right that minute.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, Bella, I can't tell you how happy this simple device makes me. But I have questions."

Isa laughed because that was no surprise. "What do you want to ask first?"

Before Carlisle could ask, though, Emmett and Rose's thoughts dug into my brain. "Eeeww, you two, just go. I don't want to hear that!"

Jasper laughed as Emmett and Rose flashed out of the room and up the stairs, slamming their bedroom door in the process. But the relief was palpable the minute the immortals in the room heard the gentle whoosh of the bubble. We didn't hear a thing after that.

I smirked at Isa because I told her they wouldn't be able to help themselves before looking over at our empath. "So, Jasper, what are you feeling?"

"You sneaky bugger!" He pointed at me, laughing. "You knew they'd bolt the minute Bella explained her gift. You expected this." His rant caused everyone to laugh.

Laughing, I raised my hands. "Guilty as charged. Emmett and Rose are nothing, if not predictable. So what do you feel?"

Jasper growled at me in jest. "I should have thought of that. I can't feel a damn thing; that's a relief to be honest. I'll only be able to feel my own feelings for Alice." Jasper turned to Isa and pulled her into his arms for a hug. "You have no idea what this means, darlin'. How long I've wanted to feel just that—my own feelings."

I smiled as Isa snaked her arms around Jasper's neck as he let out a huge wave of gratitude. Isa didn't say anything, just smiled. It was a wonderful sight, seeing a brother and sister hug and be there for each other.

After Jasper was done, Isa received hugs from Alice, Esme, and Hermione, who left the family room happily to set her lamp in her room. Esme kissed Isa on the forehead, then me, before getting up to go and check on Kreacher, who was making lunch.

Alice was about to go and find a place for hers when her face went blank, her eyes glazed over, and she froze in her seat.

In our backyard, outside in the middle of a lightning storm, were two figures: one taller than the other. The two figures held their wand arms to their chests, seeming to chant a spell, before they drank from small potion flasks. They stood still, eyes closed and faces toward the sky. After a moment, their bodies shook before they hunched over onto all fours; their clothes melded into their skin before two stunning beautiful cats burst forth.

When all was said and done, the cats cuddled together and cleaned each other.

Alice slipped out of her trance, looking to Isa and me. "You guys are going to be stunning in your Animagus forms." Isa beamed at Alice. "That storm is going to be in early March. You're going to have to have that mint and spell prepared by December at the very latest."

I nodded to her words, but I was concerned. I hadn't made any progress on that yet; maybe it was time to think around the problem, to think outside the box I had put myself in. I hoped that was going to be easier than I anticipated.

~*~UHS~*~

We were about a week out from school and running through one of our last training sessions, practicing our patronuses while also having mock duels when a very particular storm swept over the back garden. It was raining owls. Each was carrying a package, which was dropped into the hands of Fred, George, Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Hermione while I was delivered a letter.

It was the handwriting I recognized. The letter was from Opi.

I could hear the ripping of paper as I opened the letter that had been delivered.

"Oh, my God," Hermione whispered. "Why? And who?"

I looked up to see that Hermione was holding a replica of her wand, there were subtle differences, like the vine work was more concise, or the color much cleaner. The others were holding wands very similar to the ones they had been using for the last couple years, even Harry.

While they were all exclaiming and comparing their wands, I looked back to the letter in my hands.

 _Dear Edward,_

 _You know my stance on the ministry not allowing younger children practicing magic outside of school, but that is not the reason for these gifts._

 _You kids have a war coming, one that I will be joining you for, and as such, I believe you should all have wands that are not only untraceable but work for only you. Isabella, Neville, and you were only the beginning. Your group, the one you have brought together, plus any others you choose to bring in, will be the corner stone to finishing this war once and for all._

 _This I know; this I feel. And believe me; I'm old enough to know._

 _Tell young Harry that Dumbledore knows of this, and the phoenix that provided the feather for his wand from Olivander's, provided a third and final feather. It now resides in the wand that I have made. They are all the same, right down to the core._

 _This is my offering of safety. Know that I'm only an owl away should you need me._

 _Thank you for what you do, and what you will do._

 _We will have many years to know one another._

 _Good luck,_

 _Opi_

"Opi sent these," I said in reply to Hermione's earlier question. "They are exactly the same as your wands, just with Opi's twist. They're no longer traceable; they'll only work for you, which means that nobody will ever be able to use them against you."

"So our wands are now like yours, like Neville's?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. But you mustn't tell anyone. That's why he made them the same as the ones from Olivander's, so nobody can tell the difference."

Isa grinned. "Now let's try them out!"

Isa fired the first spell, aimed at Hermione, who blocked it without a problem. After that, it was an all-out backyard war. Fred and George each aimed a spell at me, while Ginny took aim at Draco. Neville was smart though; he hid before taking aim. His goal was to try and take us all out stealthily. It wouldn't work, but we let him think it would, for a while anyway.

I could see Remus, Sirius, and James all standing on the back verandah, smiling because they had done what they'd set out to do this summer.

They'd taught us how to duel.

~*~UHS~*~

"Come on, you guys!" Emmett shouted from the front door. "You don't want to be late catching the Hogwarts Express!"

I chuckled as I heard Isa laugh from upstairs. I had just finished packing most of our things in the back of Emmett's Jeep. "I don't think it'll be a problem, Emmett."

"Yeah, Emmy! With the way you drive, we'll be there in absolutely no time!" Isa called out from Hermione's room. She'd stopped in there to help her gather up the last of her things.

"I have to close my eyes with the way you drive, Emmett. It's the only part about vampires, but you especially, that scares me. Why the speed?" Hermione asked when she and Isa made it to the last step.

Emmett laughed at their teasing before chasing after Hermione and Isa, making them squeal. "It's because I can!"

I grabbed up the last of the bags, laughing and taking them out to the car while Emmett played catch with the girls. By the time I had them packed and ready to go, Emmett was carrying them both out, one under each arm like footballs. They were laughing hysterically. He plopped them down by the side of the car, then climbed into the driver's seat.

"In ya get, slow pokes; don't wanna miss the train."

Giggling, the girls climbed in, chatting about all the things they were hoping to learn this year. Hermione had been adamant about not becoming an animagus but had recently climbed up on the fence. She wanted to learn more about it before making that decision. Isa had become even more excited since Alice had her vision a few days before. She couldn't wait to see what shape she was going to take; well, what we were going to take.

"I want you girls to be careful this year, please?" Emmett asked when he pulled up outside Kings Cross Station. "Last year, one of you was petrified; this year, we have a convicted death eater on the loose and probably aiming for Hogwarts and Harry. I don't want you, any of you"—he pointed at me too—"to go off after anything that could get you hurt or in trouble. Got it?"

Isa undid her seatbelt and leaned forward to kiss Emmett on the cheek. "We will try our best, Emmy. That's the best I can offer because trouble just seems to find us."

Hermione did the same after Isa sat back. "The best I can promise is not to get petrified, mostly because there's no basilisk this year. We will try, Emmett. Besides, you'll be there to protect us."

Isa popped back in between the seats with Hermione. "Day and night. You guys did promise Professor Dumbledore after all."

Emmett sighed. "I'll take it. But please, do try your best."

"We will!" they chanted together, then jumped out of the car. Emmett looked over to me.

"I'll do my best to keep them out of trouble, and myself. I promise, Emmett. But I can't control what others will do."

"Thank you, Edward."

I climbed out and helped Emmett unload the trunks, plus Athan, Saffy, and Hermione's new cat Crookshanks. She'd picked him up that day in Diagon Alley. He had to be one of the ugliest cats I'd ever seen, but he was brave because he wasn't afraid of any of us. Even Emmett when he growled at him.

Crookshanks was ginger, with one of those grumpy cat faces, and fur that didn't matter how often or how well you brushed it, it never stayed neat. The poor thing always seemed to have clumps of fur ready to fall out, but he was a great mouse and rat catcher. There always seemed to be a new one for Hermione to find by her bedroom door every morning. We'd get rid of them for her when we caught him doing it. I hoped he wouldn't do it while we were at Hogwarts; I didn't want to think about where he would leave them. Maybe I should talk to the little orange bugger.

Emmett kissed the girls goodbye before shaking my hand and jumping into the Jeep to head off while we turned and began our trek into the station. Hermione bought a few magazines to read on the ride while Isa pulled a couple books from her bag so she had something to read as well.

I was really grateful that today was a weekday and most people had already left for work, or other places, on the trains earlier in the day, so the platforms were emptier. So when we reached the platforms between nine and ten, we had an easier go of trying to reach our platform of Nine-and-Three-Quarters without being seen.

On the other side of the gate, we found Molly and Arthur Weasley with their brood who were heading off to Hogwarts this year. They must have gotten here just before we did because Molly was still doing her mothering routine. We walked up behind them only to have Ron see us, roll his eyes, and storm off to find Seamus and Dean, all without saying goodbye.

Molly froze for a fraction of a second before turning to Percy, who had grabbed her hand to capture her attention. "Mother, I see my friends; I must be off." He bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. "I shall see you at Christmas."

The twins burst out laughing at him, causing the three of us to snicker, but Molly just reached up and patted his cheek before saying goodbye. Arthur shook his hand, then we watched as Percy practically strutted over to his friends and girlfriend Penelope Clearwater.

 _He really is as proud as a peacock._ Isa thought as she snickered to herself. My laugh caught her attention. _What? He is._

"I know, sweet girl. It was the thought that was funny."

 _Were you thinking the same thing?_

"No. But it was an apt description."

"Bella, Hermione!" Ginny squealed.

"Ginny!" The three of them hugged while Molly and Arthur turned to me.

"Ready for another year, Edward?" Arthur asked, shaking my hand.

"Yes, sir. I can't wait to see what we're going to learn this year."

"Edward, you'll pay attention, won't you?" Molly tapped her temple. "Make sure nobody can approach them?"

"Always, Molly. I will do my very best to make sure they're safe. Isa and I always do."

I leaned forward when she reached out to hug me. "I know you do. I'm sorry; I don't want to pressure you. Thank you for looking out for my children, even Ronald."

"You're welcome." I placed a kiss on Molly's cheek before standing back up.

"C'mon guys," Fred called, already walking away. "Harry and Neville are already on the train."

"We're gonna catch up with some of our friends, then we'll join you." George saluted us before climbing on board.

We said our goodbyes to Molly and Arthur, dropped our trunks and pets with the other luggage, saying a hello to the people loading, then climbed aboard. It didn't take us long to find the compartment with Harry and Neville because there was a crowd of people trying to get a look in. The both of them were going to be bombarded this year, although that was going to happen no matter when Harry appeared, but it was made all the worse because of the escape of Rabastan Lestrange.

I growled low, catching their attention. "Go on, get out of here. Get to your own compartments."

All of the ones standing there left so reluctantly because they wanted the gossip. They wanted to just see Harry Potter, to claim that they had at least met him. Even if it was just to spread around what he had said and nothing more. It seemed no matter how much teens changed, they still stayed the same.

Gossip ruled supreme.

"Hey, guys. Everything okay?" Hermione asked when she walked through the door. I was the last through, shutting it and glaring at the ones still hanging around before they all shuffled off.

Harry shrugged while Neville nodded, but it was Neville who answered. "Yeah, we decided to get here early, hoping to avoid well … that." He pointed at the doors. "Maybe we should have shut the blinds too."

"It'll get worse before it gets better. Harry's still shiny and new, plus he's come back from the dead. But the other part to it is … who is the chosen one? Are there two of them? And of course, they want to know what happened. They want to know why Harry was hiding. It's the same thing Sirius got when he started going out in public.

"Can I give you boys a piece of advice?"

Neville and Harry nodded as Isa, Hermione, and Ginny sat down.

"Be yourselves, don't be anyone else, and don't give them anything. Don't answer their questions about your pasts, and eventually, they'll leave you alone. Although, I must stress that things hidden are eventually revealed. Secrets never stay secret for long."

"So eventually, everyone is going to know all of our business?" Harry asked.

"We'll try to keep it to ourselves. It's the best we can do."

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm what do you think? It's certainly going to be an interesting year.**

 **I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas (for those who celebrate), otherwise have a good holiday season! I'll see you before the new year with another chapter.**


	5. Chapter Four - Returning to Hogwarts

**Hey everybody! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, or whichever holiday you celebrate, and are looking forward to a Happy New Year. I know that I am looking forward to all that 2018 might bring. I hope that it brings you everything you are looking for as well.**

 **Thank you to Pienuniek for her hard work keeping me in line and focused. And to Sally for how quickly you got this one back to me even in the midst of Christmas. I can't thank you ladies enough.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Harry Potter, they belong to SM and JK Rowling respectively. No Copyright infringement is intended.**

 **Enjoy, and I'll see you at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four – Returning to Hogwarts**

Our cabin had been fairly quiet since we left platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Since we'd spent so much time together over the summer holidays, we knew we just needed the quiet. Most of us were reading—either books or magazines—while Ginny napped, and Harry was watching the world outside move past.

Not that there was a lot to see. It seemed the closer we got to Hogwarts, the darker it became. I had begun to wonder if the dark, foreboding weather was a sign of things to come this year.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the portly old witch called, interrupting my revere as she made her way up the corridor of our carriage. Children from the other cabins practically fell out to buy something from her. Isa and Hermione decided to wait until she was in front of our cabin before getting anything.

 _Want anything, Teddy?_

"Pumpkin pasty, please? And a butterbeer if she has one."

Isa nodded, standing to pull the money from her jean's pocket before sitting back down for a little bit. Once the witch had made it to our cabin, both Hermione and Isa stood to get their food. Isa handed me mine before she curled up under my arm to eat her own.

"It's not usually like this when we head to Hogwarts. What do you think is causing it?" Harry asked. It seemed I wasn't the only one thinking this way.

I shrugged. "It could be a freak storm."

"This bad?" The tone of Harry's voice caused everyone to look up from what they were doing and gaze out the window.

"It can happen. Though not often." I squinted at him. Harry had become very adept at hiding things from me when needed. "Why? What has you concerned?"

Harry shook his head before looking over to me. "I don't know; something just feels off."

I nodded, relaxing back into my seat but spreading my mind reading out as far as I could. I looped through the ways that Cortesia had shown me to find other sentient beings, but as far as I could tell, nothing was amiss. There was nothing going on that I could find.

I could tell Isa was feeling out my body language while she went back to reading her books but relaxed slightly when she didn't feel a change in me. Hermione watched Harry for a moment longer but said nothing before she too looked out the window, and Ginny seemed oblivious to what was being said around her as she dozed on her seat. Neville had listened but decided not to make a comment before reading again.

I continued to scan my surroundings while reading the book Isa had pulled from her bag for me. I heard when the twins came to check on us, but they were so busy having fun with their friends that they left not long after they got there.

For the next hour or so, I scanned every mind that I could find. I never found anything, so much so, that I relaxed fully and let my guard down.

And that was when things went to hell.

We were all jerked toward the front of the train when the emergency brakes were suddenly engaged. Isa and I covered our ears trying to block out both the sound of the screaming breaks and the screaming children from all over the train.

"Merlin! What's going on?" Ginny asked, white knuckling the seat she'd been napping on.

With all the sudden jerking of the train and its carriages, poor Hermione, Neville, and Harry had ended up on the floor of our cabin. But Ginny's question caused them all to look at me.

I shook my head. "I don't know." I ranged out my gift, standing up to get closer to the door, hoping it would help. But I couldn't hear anything apart from the children and adults onboard the train. I started to panic. "I don't know. I can't hear anything!"

Harry and Neville joined me in front of the door to discuss what I meant while Isa went over to the window that Hermione was standing at again.

"What do you mean you can't hear anything? Are you talking about anything at all or just anything new?" Harry demanded.

I shook my head again. "Just nothing new! The driver doesn't even know what's going on. All he knows is he was told to apply the emergency breaks, but even he's not sure by whom. Nobody seems to know what's going on, and I can't hear whoever made the decision to stop the train!"

"Guys?" I heard faintly from behind us as Neville, Harry, and I continued to argue. "Guys?"

"So you have no bloody idea what's going on? What good is a mind reading vampire if you can't read anyone when it's important?" I reared back, feeling punched in the gut. Neville had never been so straight up mean before.

I growled at him. "Nobody is perfect, Neville. I can't catch everything, especially if there are no thoughts to catch!"

Neville realized he'd insulted me and immediately held his hands up. "I'm sorry, Edward; I didn't mean how that came out."

I was opening my mouth to refute him when Isa called out a really loud, "GUYS!"

"What?" I growled, spinning around with Harry and Neville.

Isa pointed her finger at me. "One: don't you ever growl at me like that again. Two: if we argue with each other, we'll fall apart. And three: look." Isa pointed at the window, which Hermione had one hand leaning on while she tried to see anything out there. "There's something going on out there."

Ginny pulled in a shaky breath while we watched as ice flowers bloomed on the window. The girls drew their cloaks around themselves. Once again, I spread out my mind reading, only to find nothing, absolutely nothing, out of the ordinary. The frost made its way over the window, freezing it completely, except for where Hermione's hand had been. She'd pulled it from the window when the frost had moved past.

"Wands out; be ready!" I said, doing just that. The girls gathered by the window while Harry, Neville, and I faced the door again.

We waited, quietly, in a fighting stance. Just waiting. It was quiet all around us, except for the chattering teeth as the cabin grew colder and colder. All of a sudden, there was a loud thunk just as the lights went out, causing Hermione and Ginny—plus many other girls on the train—to squeal. It was dark, just dark enough that the humans around us could see outlines, maybe small details; Isa and I, however, could still see everything.

"What's going on? Teddy, do you hear anything?"

"No." I had to adjust my stance as the train seemed to tilt left, then righted itself again. "It feels like something just came aboard."

"Ouch!"

"Sorry, Hermione."

"It's okay, Ginny. My foot will survive."

There wasn't a sound in the entire train. Mentally, however, the screams were deafening; everybody was scared as hell, frozen like the air around us. Not that I could blame them because I was scared too.

The others around me were almost panting they were so scared. Their breaths created little clouds in the subzero temperatures around us. I forced Harry and Neville back a few steps when something started to approach the door of our cabin.

"Oh, Merlin," Neville stuttered.

A black silhouette darker than its surroundings came into view. The only thing showing from under the ragged cloak was a hand—a skeletal, grayish hand. Its surface covered in scabs and slime. The arm that followed was wrapped up like a mummy, the part that protruded from the ripped and torn cloak as the hand reached for the door handle. The creature seemed to float into the frame of the window and door, the cloak covering it with a deep hood from its head right down to what I expected were its feet.

The worst part though? The worst part was its face.

"Oh, my God," Isa breathed.

"Stay calm, baby girl." Invisible to the humans, the face, if you could call it that, only had a mouth. A wide-open, gaping mouth. No nose, no eyes, and no ears that we could see under the hood.

I crouched with Neville and Harry on either side of me when the _thing_ —which I assumed was a dementor—in front of us opened the door without actually touching it.

What I didn't expect in all of the stories told about dementors was how I'd react to one.

The minute the door slipped open, even just that first fraction, the cold crept up into my bones. For the first time in my immortal life, I felt cold. My whole outlook shifted. I was no longer happy about anything; in fact, my thoughts turned destructive. Much like when I carried the guilt of what I had done in my rebellious years. It was so bad I seemed to collapse under the weight of it all.

"Teddy!" Isa yelled. I could feel her try to come closer but it didn't seem to make a lick of difference in what I was feeling.

"Wait, Bella." A voice called. I could hear a struggle going on behind me, but I didn't care. I couldn't even focus on what was happening with Neville and Harry.

I was just about to give up, lay on the floor, and curl up into a fetal position when I heard a voice. It sounded like it was coming through water, but it was there. "Expecto Patronum!"

My eyes might have been closed but I could tell there was a sudden light, a flash that had a silver tinge, and then the oppressive feelings started to lift. Sound returned; I wasn't listening from under water anymore. It was slow, but eventually, I was able to feel things around me. I knew I was lying on the floor with my head on Isa's lap. She was bent over kissing me on the forehead, crying once again.

I heard Neville and Harry groan from either side of me and felt them shift as they started to sit up. Opening my eyes, the only thing I could see was my beautiful girl's brown eyes staring down at me with tears running down her face. It was a struggle, but I managed to lift my hand to wipe away her tears.

"I'm okay, sweetheart," I whispered. "But what happened?"

Isa stuttered through a few breaths before she was able to talk. "Everything went cold." I nodded, showing I was listening. "And it felt like all the happiness was sucked out of the room."

"So it wasn't just me?"

"No, no," Isa breathed. "It felt like I'd never be happy again. But the closer that thing got, the more you, Harry, and Neville seemed to zone out and collapse in on yourselves. I tried to get to you, but Ginny held me back, and my only thought was getting to you. I should have been the one to cast the spell!"

I was finally able to sit up and pull Isa to me; she snuggled under my chin. "Who cast the Patronus?"

"I did," Hermione said from the seat next to Ginny.

I pulled myself up onto the nearest seat, lifting Isa onto my lap. "Thank you, Hermione. How are you guys?"

"We weren't as affected as you three," Ginny whispered, "but it was still so terrifying. Especially seeing you guys on the floor. I'm okay now, though."

Hermione nodded. "Me too." She smirked. "Guess that training through summer worked out for us after all."

"That sure was something." Neville panted a little. "I've never felt anything like that."

"That had to be one of the worst experiences of my life." Harry left it at that, turning to face the window once more. He didn't want to talk about it, so I wasn't going to pry.

"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed. "Here. I read that chocolate helps to build you back up after the effects of dementors, so I bought some for school this year." She handed it to all of us, giving us something to focus on for a few seconds.

I leaned back, pulling Isa with me, and closed my eyes. Taking a bite of the chocolate, I thought back over the encounter with the dementor. I'd never experienced anything like it. I couldn't imagine anything worse than feeling like that all the time.

There were so many little things that eluded me on the first run through of my memories because even watching them affected me slightly. But what I realized on the third go round was that the minute they boarded the train, they affected my mind reading. Once their effects were in full force, the thoughts around me had dulled, muted. They seemed to cloud everything around them. But it wasn't only that; no, the dementors had absolutely no thoughts what so ever.

Huh.

That was slightly problematic.

I was also going to have to have a talk with Isa. That much was certain.

 _Edward!_ A panicked voice pulled me from my thoughts. _Edward! Which cabin are you in, please?_

Placing Isa on the seat next to me, I stood and opened the door to our cabin just as Draco peeked in. I pulled him in and shut both the door and the blinds.

Spinning around, I grabbed Draco by the shoulders, helping him to stand. The poor boy was panting and had been bent over with his hands on his knees.

"Deep breaths, Draco. C'mon breathe with me." I stood there, breathing with him until he had his under control, then I led him over to the only available seat next to Ginny.

I could hear both Isa and Hermione coo in their thoughts when Ginny blushed but leaned over to give Draco a piece of chocolate, telling him quietly that it would help to make him feel better.

I sat back down so that Draco could enjoy his chocolate and gather his thoughts before I asked my questions. It wasn't like him to risk letting our relationship get out, so something with the dementors must have rattled him pretty good.

After a few minutes, Draco seemed to get some color back in his cheeks and his breathing had slowed. But the eyes that looked back at me were haunted. I'd never seen him look so defeated in all the time I'd known him.

"What's going on, Draco?"

"Were you visited by those things?" A shudder ran through him as he asked about the dementors.

I nodded. "We were. Nasty things."

Draco looked down at his hands, nodding his head. "Did you hear anything? While they were here, I mean?"

I frowned, trying to think of what he could possibly mean. "I didn't hear much of anything. They give off this aura that makes thoughts around me fuzzy. Is that what you mean?"

Still looking at his hands, Draco shook his head, then opened his mind up to me once more. He showed me the approach of the dementor from his point of view. I'm so glad I couldn't feel the effects of it on me, but I could feel how it affected Draco. It wasn't quite as drastic as it had been on me, but he did lose all happiness that he had. It really was like a cloud of depression descended over him and his group of "friends."

But it was what came just before the dementor floated away that would haunt me just as much as it haunted Draco.

There was the sound of flesh meeting flesh. A sound I absolutely abhorred. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, it was the sounds, cries, and pleas of Narcissa—begging Lucius to stop, but not only that, to leave Draco alone—that sent a shiver down my spine.

But it wasn't just Draco's memories that caught my attention; a second, almost shrill scream, emanated from inside someone's mind. The only problem was I didn't catch which mind it came from.

 _Teddy? Is everything okay?_

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, nodding slightly to answer her question before turning back to Draco. "I can't say I heard anything like that. I'm sorry that you had to."

Draco nodded before standing. "It's nothing I haven't heard before, but it seemed so much worse when it seemed to come from those things."

"I can imagine, considering the way they could make us feel. Try not to think on it too much. Although I'd say that's pretty hard considering the way you have to live at home."

"And worrying about my mother being at home with _him_ while I'm safely at school." Draco snorted. He paused at the door. "Thank you for the chocolate, Ginny. And thank you, Edward, for listening."

Before either of us could answer, he was gone.

~*~UHS~*~

Everyone was exhausted by the time the train reached Hogsmeade station. Nobody seemed to recover from what I had later found out was a search of the train for Rabastan Lestrange. The dementors had really done a number on all of us.

What an introduction to traveling to Hogwarts for the first years.

We smiled and waved at Hagrid as he ambled his way down the platform, calling for the first years to follow him to the boats. We made our way out of the station and down the stairs to the waiting carriages being pulled by the Thestrals that we'd seen last year.

"Hello, pretties," Isa cooed, walking up to pat the pair that were pulling our carriage. "Aren't you some pretty things?"

"I still don't see what they see." I could hear Hermione whisper from behind us as she climbed into the carriage.

"Me either," Harry whispered back, "but if they say there's something there, then there is."

"Hey, Bella, Edward, wait up!" A voice called just as Isa started to climb into the carriage before me. "Wait for me!"

"Hello, Luna. Climb aboard."

"Thank you, Edward. How were your holidays?" Luna asked looking to everyone when she sat down.

Everyone chatted around me while I tried to see if I could read the dementors that were posted at the gates of Hogwarts. Again, it was like they weren't even there. Luckily, they were high enough that they didn't cause any effects on those who were inside our carriage.

"Oh, before I forget …" Luna interrupted my thoughts. "Everyone was _still_ talking about how Harry Potter rose from the dead, how Neville Longbottom could still be the chosen one, even though Harry survived." Luna rolled her eyes. "I don't know what they'll do in the castle, but I don't think leaving you two alone will be one of them."

"Oh goody," Neville stated sarcastically. "Why did I think I'd be left alone once Harry was revealed?"

Harry snorted. "Wishful thinking?"

It felt good to laugh after the effects of the afternoon so that was what we did for the remainder of the short ride up to the castle.

~*~UHS~*~

After the sorting ceremony and dinner where we were treated to Professor Dumbledore's play on words, like always, we also had a change of pace with the Frog Choir giving us a performance of _Double Trouble_.

Once they were finished, Professor Dumbledore took his usual place behind the podium up on the stage.

"I'd like to welcome all students, new and old, to another year at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I just want to say a few words before we're all befuddled from this year's feast. First, I'd like to welcome Professor Lupin as our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Professor Dumbledore froze while he waited for the applause to die down, especially from our table. "To enjoy his days with his remaining limbs, Professor Kettleburn has retired from the position of Care of Magical Creatures professor, but our own Rubeus Hagrid will be taking up the mantle."

There was even louder applause from across three tables; Hagrid was a beloved member of staff. Isa and I chuckled at his embarrassed face as he stood, knocking the table, because Professor McGonagall had elbowed him. Hagrid wasn't one for attention, it seemed.

"On a more serious note, Hogwarts will be housing the Dementors of Azkaban this year. I must impress upon you that a dementor will not discriminate between those it is hunting and you, should you get in their way. Do not give them a reason to attack you. But remember, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

"Thank you, children, and now I must wish you goodnight; you all have classes in the morning!"

The groans were comical. You'd think after all the years here at Hogwarts, the children would be used to starting their lessons the day after returning. We leave Kings Cross Station on the first of September and start classes the following day; why must they groan. I couldn't wait to start learning.

We congratulated Remus and Hagrid before being interrupted by some of the Slytherins doing a replay of what they thought had happened in our cabin on the train. We decided it was better to ignore them, not give them any ammunition, and walked toward the door.

Ginny joined us as we made our way out of the Great Hall, rolling her eyes at Percy's spiel of, "First years, follow me. I'm Head Boy and Prefect for Gryffindor."

"Think he'll ever get sick of saying that?" Ginny asked.

Every single person in our group snorted before Fred and George emphatically stated, "No!"

"It'll only get worse when he gains a position in the Ministry," George continued. "I can hear him now, 'You will listen to me, Mother, because I am a very important person!'"

The imitation was spot on, causing all of us to laugh as we made our way up the grand staircase to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Welcome back, Gryffindors! I hope you all had a good summer break and are ready for some learning."

Isa smiled at her. "We are, my lady. Are you going to sing for us this year?" All the people around us groaned at her question. The Fat Lady was notorious for trying to hit a note high enough to break glass; so far, she hadn't succeeded.

The Fat Lady laughed. "Not this year, my dear. What's the password?"

"Fortuna Major." Hermione laughed. "And it's a shame, my lady; we so enjoy your musical interludes."

"No, you don't," the Fat Lady chortled as she swung open. "But thank you anyway!"

Before Isa ran off to unpack what she would need for the next day, I asked her to join me back down here when she had finished. With a nod and a kiss on the cheek, she ran off with Hermione. I decided that with my free lesson in the morning I would set up the Room of Requirement then, giving me free time and quiet to continue working on my mint.

Once everyone was in bed, Isa snuck back down to the Common Room.

"You wanted to talk to me?" she asked, sitting on my knee.

"I did. Do you remember a little talk and demonstration we had over summer concerning you and my overprotection?"

"Yes, of course. I wanted to show you that I was capable of looking after myself."

I nodded, pulling her closer so I could place a small kiss on her head. "You did, and it was a very good demonstration. It let me see that you're very capable. I was able to work on that so you were able to protect yourself, and me, if needed."

Isa nodded, a small smug smile on her face.

"Can you think of a reason that I'd bring this up now?"

I watched as Isa's brows furrowed while she thought about what could have me bringing up this topic. I could see all the ideas she had, flowing through her brain, until she landed on the one that caused me to bring this topic up.

I kissed her forehead. "Exactly, my girl. If I had to learn to let you look after yourself …"

"I have to not panic when something affects you," she murmured. "The best way to protect you is to do just that. I have to cast the spell that will help before trying to get to you."

"I knew you'd figure it out." This time, I kissed her cheek. Isa smiled at me, snuggling in. "Want to stay here for the night?"

"Do you need to set up in the Room of Requirement?"

"No. I can do that in the morning, during first lesson."

"Then, yes. I'm going to sleep right here."

I picked up the blanket I kept nearby and wrapped her up in it. Letting her snuggle in under my chin. I kept her warm, all night.

~*~UHS~*~

Early the next morning, just as Isa was waking, Fred and George wandered into the Common Room wanting to talk.

I woke Isa quietly and sent her off to get ready for her first class of the day, Muggle Studies, while I spoke to the twins.

"What's up, guys?"

They looked at each other before waving me over to the couches in front of the fireplace, but it was George who spoke first. "We heard about what happened on the train. We were lucky those dreadful things didn't enter our cabin."

"We wanted to tell you that we're going to do some research into dementors," Fred continued. "It's not just because of what happened with you guys but also because of Dad."

I frowned, tilting my head at them. Their thoughts were clear, and I was getting two different perspectives of the same conversation. But I wanted to hear it from them.

"What happened?"

Fred leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. "Dad had to visit Azkaban prison as some sort of rotation for the Ministry. I think it was just to check that everything was okay. But the look on his face when he got home will be one that will haunt me for a very long time."

"Tell me about it," George murmured. Head flopping back on the couch. "He was haunted, and he said that if he ever went back, it would be too soon. He said the place was inhumane, and he didn't understand how they kept it open, or why they treated our kind that way." He sat up, looking at me. "Don't get me wrong; bad wizards need to be punished, locked away where they can't hurt anyone. But if that place is as bad as Dad says, then maybe it's time for us to find a new solution."

"If those in there are affected as much as we were on the train, you might be right. And who's to say they're under ministry control. I mean if someone came along and offered more people to 'snack on' does that mean they would jump ship?" I posed. "I don't think they're the type of monsters we should be placing our faith in."

"Something to keep in mind, I think," Fred said as he stood. "Time for breakfast. Nothing like filling your gut after a riveting conversation."

George chuckled. "Come on. I'll race ya!"

With that, they both waved, grabbed their school bags, and bolted out the door. Nothing ever really kept them down for long. It was an outlook I hoped they always had.

"Ready, Teddy?" Isa asked, skipping down the stairs.

"I am. Don't you want to wait for the others?"

"Nope. Hermione said to go ahead, that she'd catch up. The boys are still waking up."

I laughed, picking up her bag and holding my hand out to her. "Well, let's get a move on then. We need a good breakfast to get us through all the new learning that we're going to do today."

It didn't take long for the others to join us in the Great Hall. We're enjoying a great loud breakfast when thoughts entered my head. _Edward? Edward?_

I turned to find that it was Draco who had been calling me.

 _I want to apologize for last night. If I tried to stop them, it would have been suspicious. I hate that I have to let them do this._

I gave him a small grin and shook my head. We all knew he had to keep up appearances and that he didn't actually mean it.

 _Thank you._ He sighed in his thoughts. _I know I don't need to apologize. But can you pass it on regardless?_

I nodded and turned back to our group, who had gone quiet. "Draco wants to apologize for last night and the demonstration the Slytherins were putting on."

"He doesn't need to do that. We know." Surprisingly, it was Ginny who voiced the thoughts going around. "Someone needs to tell him to stop."

I nodded, pulling parchment and a pen from Isa's bag. "I'll do that. I'm the only one who doesn't have a lesson this morning." Just as I said that, the food disappeared from the plates in front of us. "And now it seems you must be off."

Isa stood and kissed my cheek. "We'll see you for transfiguration, Teddy. Enjoy your free lesson."

"Have a good one, guys." I waved as they walked out the door. I quickly wrote a small letter to Draco and waited until he walked past the corner of the Gryffindor table I was sitting at to slip it into the pocket of his robes. I knew he'd eventually find it there.

After that, I headed off to the Room of Requirement. Just because Harry didn't need the Polyjuice Potion didn't mean that should stop. Shane still needed it. Plus, I had work to do on both the potion for Remus and the Month Long Mini-Mint. What better place to do that than here at school.

~*~UHS~*~

I was frustrated. I'd had no success in furthering my mint. You'd think after as many weeks as I'd put into it, I would have had some small success already. But so far, nothing.

Isa and Hermione frowned when they saw me coming up the hall to Transfiguration. Both of their thoughts wondering if something had happened.

"Everything's fine," I whispered to them. "I just had no luck with something."

The both nodded before making their way into the Transfiguration classroom before me.

 _Are you sure, Teddy?_

"Positive, sweet girl. Once I figure it out, things will be okay."

"Welcome to Transfiguration, everyone. We're just going to jump right in today with a theory lesson on becoming an Animagus. Remember, this is only theory; we do not practice becoming one here in this school. There is a registration with the Ministry for those who become an Animagus. All of your markings are logged. The reason for this is that, once upon a time before the registry, people used their Animagus forms to perpetrate crimes.

"The process to become an Animagus takes a long time, it's difficult, but it can be rewarding for those who manage."

With that, Professor McGonagall seemed to melt, only to turn into a beautiful tabby cat with what appeared to be spectacles around her eyes. Of course, everyone in the class cheered her until she turned back into herself.

"Before we go into the specifics, are there any questions about what I just did?"

There were several small questions, most pertaining to how, until Isa put her hand in the air.

"Yes, Miss Swan. Last question before we move onto the instructions."

"I noticed the markings in your fur, especially the ones around your eyes. Does that happen with whatever you're wearing?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Your Animagus form will have the basic markings of the animal you will turn into, but essentially, yes. If you are wearing glasses, any kind of glasses, a watch, or even a ring, those can become markings that make you identifiable. Are we ready to cover the theory now?"

Every student in the class bobbed their head frantically. They all wanted to know how Professor McGonagall had become an Animagus.

"I must warn you that this process is tricky, and you should only attempt it if you have not only a high aptitude for transfiguration, but one for potions. If you don't, or haven't gotten high marks in either of those subjects, I'd suggest not trying. Because the physical and mental strain it can take _if_ it goes wrong can be devastating."

There were a lot of mental groans from the kids in the room. Most of them were either good at one subject or the other, having high marks in both was rare. In fact, there were only three students in our class who had them, and they were sitting in our row. It was an unfair advantage because Hermione, Isa, and I had photographic memories. Well that and we didn't let Professor Snape scare us out of doing our best.

"Last year, you all learned of mandrakes during Herbology. That is one of the ingredients and items needed for this to work. And the first one. The first step is to carry one of its leaves in your mouth for a full month, from full moon to full moon. You can't swallow it or take it out, if you do either of those things, you will need to start again."

That time, the groans weren't mental; they were out loud. There were questions being thrown about too. Mostly about how they were supposed to eat if they already had something in their mouth.

"Quiet, all of you." McGonagall waited until everyone calmed down. "I told you this was a difficult process, and this is just one of the hurdles you'll have to figure out a way around. Do you want to hear the rest of it?" Once the class was quiet, she started again. "On the following full moon, you need to remove the leaf and place it into a small crystal vial that is receiving the pure rays of the moon. Again, if the night is cloudy, you are going to have to start the process all over again.

"You must also add to the vial one of your own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew collected from a place that hasn't been touched by either sunlight or human feet in seven days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth." There were more groans from around the room because these instructions were specific, really specific. We were going to have to do some investigation around home to find all of these things. The only one I wasn't sure about was the moth. Another thing to research. I'm glad we had many friends because the list of things we had to research this year was going to be long.

Professor McGonagall continued on after everyone calmed down. "After you have added all the ingredients to the vial, you will need to put it in a quiet, dark place and not disturb it until the next electrical storm. Once again, if you or someone else does disturb it, you will have to start all over again. Do not let sunlight touch the vial because that causes the worst mutations, those you want to avoid.

"Once the vial has been placed in the dark, every morning at sunrise and every evening at sundown you should place the tip of your wand over your heart and speak the incantation 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus.' This needs to be done until the next electrical storm; do not miss a day or …"

"You will have to start all over again," the class chanted. I snorted, causing Isa to giggle.

 _This will so be worth the work, Teddy. I can't wait to see what we will become._

"It will be worth it. I just hope I can complete it too."

 _You'll figure it out._ Isa looked around at our group. _But I'm pretty sure we'll be doing it alone. The others don't look interested anymore._

I could see what she meant. While they were listening, they weren't actively engaging in the conversation. "Doesn't matter, sweet girl. It can be something we can do."

 _I don't want to register, though. We won't break the laws, but I don't want to be tracked._

"We'll see what we can do."

"There will come a time when the touching of the wand to your chest and the repetition of the incantation may cause a second heartbeat. Or in your case, Mr. Masen, you might get yours back." I smiled at that, to feel a heartbeat in my chest would be a wonderful feeling. "When that lightning storm hits, you must immediately retrieve your crystal vial, which should now be holding a mouthful of blood-red potion. Once you have it, move to a large, secure place where you will be unable to harm either yourself or someone else. Then place your wand tip to your heart, speak the incantation, and drink the potion."

By this time, everyone was quiet. Not one person was willing to interrupt.

"If you have done everything correctly, there will be fiery pain, an intense double heartbeat, and you will see in your mind the animal that you will become. Anything on your person will become part of your transformation; they will not fall off. That first transformation can be very uncomfortable and frightening, but as long as you remain calm then it will happen naturally. Once your transformation is complete, you'll be physically comfortable, and I advise you to hide your wand somewhere you are able to find it later."

Professor McGonagall took a large breath, relaxing from her monologue. "When you want to return to your human form, you need to visualize your human self as clear as you can. This should do it, but you shouldn't panic if it doesn't happen the first time. With practice, any wizard who becomes an animagus should be able to transform at will, simply by visualizing either form."

There wasn't much to say after that. It was a lot of information to take in; it was a good thing Isa and I took really good notes because Professor McGonagall was not giving out instructions.

"I'll let you leave class early now that I've plied you with this information and probably caused a bit of an overload. I can answer questions should you have them, but know that it will only be in the theoretical. Just remember, to transfigure oneself takes an awful lot of Transfiguration."

Her last comment made me freeze. No wonder I couldn't come up with a potion to make the mini-mint, it didn't need it, and anyway, if I would have done it, it would be eaten up by the venom in my mouth. Not just that; having it last a month would be hard.

But maybe, just maybe, I could figure out a way, a spell, to transfigure the leaf that would make it last a month's time.

~*~UHS~*~

"That was intense," Neville murmured as we took seats in the Great Hall. No other class was out at the moment, so we were fairly secluded in our little bubble.

"That's for sure. It's been a day for that, it seems." Harry's comment was met with frowns and furrowed brows.

Hermione leaned over the table, grabbing his hand. "What do you mean?"

"Hmm?" Harry asked like he'd zoned out. "Oh, it was nothing."

"No, it wasn't, Harry," Neville argued. "Our first lesson was weird to say the least. Professor Trelawney is eccentric, don't get me wrong, but Divination was fascinating." At this, Hermione scoffed. "You can scoff, Hermione, but to me, it was fascinating."

Harry nodded. "She walked around the class introducing herself and asking questions. For example, she asked Neville if his grandmother was okay, told Pansy that she'd suffer a loss later in the year, and then explained what we'd be studying, starting with tea leaves."

Isa giggled at Hermione's face; clearly, Hermione didn't agree with Neville's assessment of Divination.

"So we drank tea," Harry continued. "And once it was gone, we had to look at the shapes in the bottom of the cup and interpret what we saw." Harry reached into his bag, and pulled out a book on reading tealeaves, and flipped pages.

Neville laughed. "I tried to read Harry's. According to what I saw, he had a wonky cross and a sun, which according to the book here"—Neville pointed to the symbols—"meant he was going to go through trials and suffering but he was going to be happy about it."

"Like that's not vague or everyday life!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air, causing us to laugh at her.

"Let me finish." Neville pointed at her. "After my answer, Professor Trelawney requested my cup only to take the shortest look in history, flinch, and basically throw the cup back at me, shaking and nearly passing out while saying he has The Grim."

This time, Harry spun the book around to face the three of us, pointing out to us a picture and description. If we weren't being so serious, I would have found the fact that the three of us leaned in to read it comical.

I frowned as I read the description.

 _The Grim is an omen of death, which is reputed to bring about the demise of the person who encounters it. The Grim takes the shape of a large, black, spectral dog. Perhaps the most well-known of omens, the Grim has earned infamy throughout the Wizarding World and is considered to be one of the worst, if not the worst, omens around._

 _It is based on the Hellhound, known as the Bearer of Death. Folklore says if you see one, you will die._

"Well, isn't that a cheery description," Isa sang.

I chuckled at her. Tapping the picture, I turned to look at Harry and Neville. "I'm not saying that the art of reading tealeaves isn't something worth pursuing, or divination in general, but you know what this description and picture remind me of?"

Both boys shook their head while they looked at the picture of the dog.

"It reminds me of Sirius. So if anything, Harry has been seeing the Grim for years, and so far, nothing has happened. I'm not saying that it couldn't be an omen but don't put too much stock into it until you see something you never have before."

"That we can do." Both Neville and Harry smiled while Harry put the book away as others started trickling in from their classes.

"Are you two still going to try to become an Animagus?" Hermione whispered, catching both of the boys' attention.

"We are." Isa nodded.

"Then it looks like we've got some work to do."

Isa and I smiled. Nobody had better friends than we did.

~*~UHS~*~

"I can't wait to see what Hagrid is going to teach us." Isa beamed as she skipped along beside me.

We'd had our usual boisterous lunch, just like we always did when together. We'd pushed aside the cheery thoughts from Professor Trelawney and everything that Professor McGonagall had told us and just had fun being just us.

I chuckled at Isa. "We just have to make sure that you don't bring home at least one of everything that Hagrid shows us."

Hermione, Neville, and Harry laughed at Isa's put out face. Hermione was the first to talk. "He's right, Bella. How many of the creatures that you've come across made it home?"

"I don't know," Isa whined playfully. "I'm sure there will be more."

We all laughed at that because I had no doubt that what she said would be right.

There was a nervous coughing as we reached Hagrid's hut, so we quieted down and turned to face him.

"Welcome, ever'one," Hagrid almost whispered. He looked around; once he saw our supportive faces, he pulled in a deep breath before speaking again. "This is Care of Magical Creatures, and boy, do I have a lesson for yeh today. Please, follow me and pull out yer textbooks."

We all followed Hagrid out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest behind his cottage. "You need to open them to page ten."

"Uh, how do we do that?" Draco asked, looking at the book in his hands that had awoken when he'd pulled it out of his bag. Well, not just his.

"You stroke the spine, o'course," Hagrid said as if that should have been obvious.

 _Like we should have known that._ I could almost feel Isa's eye roll causing me to chuckle. _Shut up, Teddy. As much as I love Hagrid, maybe he should have stuck with_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

I stroked the spine of my book, making it purr before it relaxed enough that I thought it would let me open it without attacking me.

"Wait 'ere a minute." Hagrid jogged off, as much as a half-giant, half-human could jog.

I finally found the page Hagrid had wanted us to look at. "Oh, my God. Oh, Isa, you are going to have a hard time not taking one of these home with us."

"What? Why?"

I flipped the book around for her to see. "Aww. Oh, Teddy, you are a so right."

Everyone in our vicinity laughed at the pained look on Isa's face because she really was going to want to take one home with her.

"'Ere we go," Hagrid called, leading a grouping of five gorgeous animals into the paddock in front of us. "Hippogriffs; beautiful aren't they?"

They were stunning in all their colors. Chestnut browns, whites, stormy greys, pinks, and even an inky black. Well, they were beautiful after you got over the shock of seeing them for the first time. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses. But the head, wings, and front legs were large eagles. The talons on their front legs were at least six inches long. I couldn't have stopped Isa making her way to the fence if I tried.

"That's it, come closer." The only ones game enough were Hermione and Isa. I kept my distance, just in case they didn't like me.

"The firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is they're proud creatures. Yeh don't ever wan' to offend one. It may be the last thing yeh ever do."

 _Edward, listen._ Draco called me. I could hear what he wanted. Crabbe and Goyle were trying to include Draco in a way to interrupt Hagrid's lesson. Draco wasn't saying anything but he knew he would have to do it. _You'll make sure I don't get too hurt, right?_ I nodded to his question. _Thank you._

"Yeh always wait fer a hippogriff to make the firs' move. Slowly approach one, stop, and bow. If it bows back, yeh can continue yer approach. If not, yeh want to get as far back as possible. Those talons will cause great damage." Hagrid paused, letting that bit of information sink in. "Yeh've got to keep eye contact, and don't blink too much, 'cause they don't trust yeh if yeh blink too much."

The hippogriffs in question were shaking their heads and fluttering their wings. Hagrid had collars and leashes on them, I presumed so they couldn't fly away, but it didn't seem like they liked it. And I couldn't blame them. I'd want to fly and be free if I were them.

"Now who wants to touch 'em?"

I chuckled a little because I wasn't surprised when Isa's hand shot into the air. Hermione's and Harry's were a little more hesitant.

"Edward, Neville? You too?" Hagrid asked. He was less formal than the other teachers, calling us by our first names.

"Will they let me?"

Hagrid tilted his head. "Only one way to find out."

Isa was almost vibrating with excitement. She'd wanted to see a hippogriff since we'd come across that skeleton in the Chamber last year. I placed a hand on her shoulder once we'd all climbed over the fence, hoping to calm her down. The five of us faced a hippogriff of a different color and took a few steps forward, then almost in a synchronized move, we all bowed at the same time, keeping an eye on the beast in front of us.

Isa's white one bowed straight away, almost falling to its knees to bow back to her as quickly as possible, and then it let her approach without a problem. The pink one Hermione was facing, bowed after that, and nuzzled her when she reached out to touch it. My black one eyed me up and down, taking stock of me, I assumed from its thoughts. They were really intelligent creatures. Once he'd assessed me, he surprised me by bowing and letting me approach him.

I missed what happened with Neville's brown one because I was surprised at the feel of the soft, downy feathers under my hand. I had assumed their feathers would be courser due to the fact that they were fully-grown, like on a bird, but really, I should know by now that nothing was the same in the wizarding world. But we were all interrupted out of our reverie by Hagrid.

"Back up, Harry, back up." I watched as Harry's grey hippogriff flung its head up and stomped its foot. Stopping and eyeing Harry with interest when he stepped on a twig. The hippogriff watched him for a second before bowing and letting Harry approach.

"Well done, all of you!" Hagrid called out, clapping. He made his way around the group of us, patting the hippogriffs, and congratulating us one at a time. "Now, Harry, want ter ride 'im?"

"What?" Harry pulled back, startled. He didn't get a chance to argue the point because Hagrid, in all his wisdom, picked Harry up and placed him on the back of the hippogriff.

"This one's name is Buckbeak. Don't pull out any of his feathers; he won't thank yeh for that." With that, Hagrid slapped the hindquarters of Buckbeak, making the beast in question rear up before running for take-off with Harry hanging on for dear life.

After Buckbeak had taken off, Hagrid turned to the rest of us. "Do you think that was okay?" he asked quietly.

I chuckled at his sudden nerves. "It's a little too late to question it now. But don't worry; I'm sure it will be fine." In fact, I could tell it would be. Harry was having as much fun riding Buckbeak as he did when he rode his broom. Before I could say anything else, Isa's white hippogriff was taking the same path as Buckbeak before him. "You'll be lucky, Hagrid, if she doesn't ride that one all the way home."

"They know who feeds them," Hagrid grinned under his bushy beard. "Do you three wanna ride?"

"No, thank you," Hermione and Neville stated before Hermione continued. "This was more amazing than anything, but I don't like flying."

The three of us backed away from the hippogriffs and stood near the fence, letting the others in our class have a turn trying to touch them. Some were successful; others were not. Eventually, Harry and Isa returned, riding their hippogriffs, Buckbeak and Wildtail, and landed near the other three: Fleetwing, Hothoof, and Stormswift.

"Well done, yeh two, well done. Thank yeh for trusting me." He paused before whispering, "How am I doin' on me firs' lesson?"

"You're doing brilliant," they both gushed, thanking him for letting them ride the hippogriffs, then making their way over to where we were standing.

 _Okay …_ Draco's thoughts sighed because he was being pushed and prodded by Crabbe and Goyle to do something, anything. He adopted an arrogant air, the one his father emulated more often than not, and strode confidently toward the hippogriff that Harry had been on, Buckbeak. "No, you're not dangerous, are you? There's not a thing about you that's at all remotely scary."

It was just as he reached out to touch Buckbeak that he reared back onto his hind legs, spread his wings, flapping them in a warning gesture, and made a warning call. When Draco didn't back off, Buckbeak essentially squawked a war cry before letting himself fall toward Draco, brandishing his talons like knives.

I was quick, but I wasn't quick enough. By the time I reached Draco and pulled him out of the way, I'd saved his life but was unable to stop him being scratched, right down the length of his forearm.

"Buckbeak, back, back," Hagrid was shouting, but it was Isa who pulled him back with a rope that Hagrid had left hanging over the fence post looped around his neck.

I could hear Isa cooing at Buckbeak, soothing down his feathers and nuzzling his head into her neck.

"Draco, are you okay?" I whispered to him, laying him down onto the ground.

 _It hurts. So, so bad._ He paused to groan out loud. _You know my dad will fight this with every ounce of pull he has._

"Don't worry about that now. You need to continue performing." I stepped away from him so that Hagrid could move in.

Draco made a face, one full of pain that also seemed to be full of loathing. "My father is going to hear about this."

"Hagrid, he needs to get to the hospital wing!" Hermione prodded.

"Righ'." Hagrid bent down to pick Draco up. "I'll do it; I'm the teacher. Class dismissed."

We all watched in silence as Hagrid walked away, carrying Draco. But it was Draco's last words that sealed the deal for the Slytherins.

"I'm going to get you. You and your bloody chicken!"

Our small group of five was quiet as both Hagrid and everyone else in the class walked away toward the castle, well, all except for Isa, who was still cooing at Buckbeak and keeping him calm.

"This isn't going to be the end of this," Neville murmured. "Professor McGonagall is going to have to write home about this incident."

Harry groaned. "That means Mr. Malfoy is going to fight this, hard."

"But who will he go after? Buckbeak? Hagrid? Both?" Hermione asked.

I sighed. "He could go straight for Professor Dumbledore for hiring Hagrid in the first place. I think we're just going to have to wait and see."

 _Nothing is going to happen to this animal. If I have to steal him myself,_ Isa thought as she helped us place the collars and leashes back on the hippogriffs and led them back the way Hagrid had come from.

"We aren't supposed to be back here, Edward," Harry noted.

"I know. But we can't leave the hippogriffs where others can get to them. I'm sure if we're caught, it won't be a problem."

We were all quiet after we situated the hippogriffs and as we made our way back to the castle, but none more so than Isa. I knew she was worried about what was going to happen to Buckbeak and what she could do to stop what was potentially coming. As we sat down at a table in the library to go over what we learned today and do some research, I pulled Isa into my side.

"Don't worry, baby girl; we won't let anything happen to Buckbeak. Even if we have to spirit him away in the middle of the night."

Isa looked up at me with eyes glistening with tears. _Thank you, Teddy. It wasn't Buckbeak's fault, nor was it Draco's; it just is. But I feel that good old Lucius will go for the neck. Literally._

"Then we'll save him. I promise." I sealed that promise with a kiss to her head.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmmm ... lots happened in this chapter. I'm looking forward to what you all have to say.**

 **Thank you for reading and I'll see you in the New Year.**


	6. Chapter Five - The Best Class Ever

**Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Under Her Spell. I hope the New Year has been good for all of you, and that all of you are well.**

 **A big thank you to Pienuniek and Sally, not only for this chapter, but for all their work over the Christmas/New Year break. If not for them then I wouldn't have had any chapters to post.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling respectively, no copyright infringement intended.**

 **I'll leave you to it, please enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five – The Best Class Ever**

The next couple days were filled with talk about Draco and his injury. He had to spend some time in the hospital wing. Whether that was for show or he actually had to, I didn't know because I didn't want to get caught going in there by any number of the Slytherins who paraded through the doors daily. He came to classes the day he was released with his arm all bandaged up and a sling preventing him from using it.

Draco, for his part, played it extremely well. He was extra snooty and pompous when asked about what happened and what Madam Pomfrey thought about it. To which he answered, "Madam Pomfrey said I was very lucky. Another couple inches and I could have lost it."

The crowd around him ate it up.

But it was in potions class with Professor Snape that it really came out to play.

We were working on a new potion, a Shrinking Solution, once again being audited by Pokey. Snape was a lot less hostile, at least out loud, when Pokey was around, making for a much quieter and easier lesson.

Although, Pansy Parkinson had been simpering to Draco for the first half of the lesson, making it hard for him to get anything done, let alone with his arm in the sling. Snape had brought Draco's cauldron forward and set him up on the table with Harry and Neville, who both were showing their "hate" for him quite well.

But it was as we were getting the ingredients ready that Draco, Harry, and Neville put on an award winning performance.

First, Draco's hand rose in the air. "Professor Snape, sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, cause of my arm …"

Snape spun around. "Longbottom, cut up those roots for him."

Neville looked up at me, winked, and then took hold of the daisy roots in front of Draco. "I don't know why you need me to cut these up." He started to make it look like he was mangling the roots compared to what he had done with his own. "There's nothing wrong with your arm at all."

Isa snorted from next to me but didn't say a word. I smiled at her reaction.

"Sir, Longbottom is mutilating my roots."

Snape walked over and looked down his hook-shaped nose at Neville. "You will hand over your roots."

"But, sir," Neville tried to interrupt.

"Now."

Neville sighed and carefully slid his set of skinned, evenly cut daisy roots to Draco, all while trying to hide his smirk.

"And, sir, I need someone to skin this shrivelfig." Draco smirked maliciously.

Snape spun to stalk back across the classroom. "Potter, you will skin Mr. Malfoy's shrivelfig."

To Harry's credit, all he did was make a face, reach over to grab the fig, and skin it before handing it back. While Snape's back was turned, and everyone else was preoccupied with their cauldrons, the three boys shared a small smile.

Snape would no longer seclude someone to pick on for the class because he now knew that Pokey was reporting directly to Professor Dumbledore at the end of every day. So for the rest of the lesson, he sneered at all of us and expected perfection. He even stayed clear of me, for which I was grateful because I didn't know how long I could get Isa to keep her mouth closed.

The only thing that concerned me about Snape's lesson was the filthy, disparaging look that he gave to Neville and Harry on our way out the door. And the thought of _maybe, just maybe, I can get away with it,_ from Snape.

I'd be teaching them the spell I had learned to cover their cauldrons so that nobody could sabotage them. I really didn't see why Dumbledore kept him around. Because I still couldn't see the reformed Death Eater, only the big bully.

~*~UHS~*~

"So you think Snape is going to shift his focus to us?" Harry asked after I repeated to them what I had heard Thursday at lunch.

"I think it's a distinct possibility. He can't get to me because I won't let him. If he does, just keep your cool. Don't show that you're rattled. You guys did great the other day."

Neville and Harry high fived each other before breaking into laughter.

"He's been sighted; he's been sighted!" Seamus ran into the Great Hall, waving a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Who?"

"Rabastan Lestrange. An emergency paper was just delivered."

At that moment, both Athan and Saffy flew through the open windows, holding their own copies of the Daily Prophet. I grabbed mine as Isa collected hers and leaned over to share with Hermione. While Neville and Harry looked over at Seamus's.

 _Convicted mass murderer and Death Eater, Rabastan Lestrange, has had a confirmed sighting in Dufftown. From what this Daily Prophet reporter can ascertain, he was attempting to steal some food from one of the local stores when he was spotted._

 _Rabastan Lestrange managed to escape from Azkaban Prison …_

"Damn, that's not too far from here," Hermione mumbled, frowning.

Isa's head tilt caught my attention. "He really is coming here. Is he that dumb?"

"No. Not dumb. Desperate. He was captured and put away. I'll bet anything he's trying to prove himself."

Our conversation made everyone else's come to a stop. But it was Dean Thomas who voiced the question on every mind in the hall.

"Prove himself? To who?"

Isa snorted. "Well, I thought that would be obvious. He's a murderer and a convicted death eater. Who do you think he's trying to prove himself to?"

"You-know-who is gone, isn't he?" Again, Dean asked the question.

I snorted out loud. "After everything we've gone through in the last couple years, everything that has happened here at school, how can you possibly think Voldemort is gone?" I paused, looking around at the students gathered. "I know word got around about what happened, both under the school and in the Chamber of Secrets. Do not keep your heads in the sand. Voldemort will return; it's only a matter of time."

Isa laughed at the stunned faces around us before turning to see the smirk on mine. "Well, with that cheery prediction, we've got class."

Our group packed our belongings, what little we'd pulled out, then made our way out of the Great Hall. Leaving behind a lot of frozen children.

~*~UHS~*~

Later that evening, when everyone was asleep, I stood guard, looking out the window. After the Daily Prophet had reported that Lestrange had been as close as Dufftown, and the conversation we'd had in the Great Hall, everyone had become tense and scared.

My family had come to the school after their own jobs and were patrolling the castle, giving the teachers a break—time to eat and time to sleep.

But we weren't the only ones patrolling.

Out at the edge of the forest, I could see a stag and a large black dog that had taken up residence. They had been slowly roaming all over the grounds and through the forest. They weren't just accepting that the Dementors were there to catch Lestrange; they wanted to make sure it was going to happen.

It concerned me because I knew they wanted revenge. And I also knew that revenge was never the way to go.

I hoped we'd be able to stop them in time if they found Lestrange first.

~*~UHS~*~

Friday found us in one of our favorite lessons: Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin was fast becoming the whole school's favorite teacher. He had decided that our lessons needed to have a practical aspect to our learning, as well as a theoretical one.

Earlier this week, we had been learning about the Riddikulus charm.

"Welcome, welcome class. Pop your bags down, grab your wands, and follow me!"

Most of the class frowned but followed his directions. And then we all walked out of the classroom and into the corridor. It didn't take Isa and me long to figure out where we were going. So when we stepped through the door of the teachers' lounge, I pulled Isa to the back of the group.

There, set up in the back of the room, was the familiar wardrobe that Isa and I encountered last year when hiding in the staff room before heading down to the Chamber of Secrets.

 _Oh, this isn't going to be good,_ Isa thought to herself.

The only problem I could foresee was the fact that Professor Snape had set up camp in the staff room. That was until he saw all of us come through the door. Snape froze before he started packing his things up with a sneer.

Lupin ignored him, stood in front of the wardrobe, and spread his arms wide.

"Welcome, class, to Defense Against the Dark Arts. We discussed earlier this week that this year I plan to show you a wide array of not only defensive spells, but a few of the darker, less dangerous creatures our world has to offer, but we will also _practice_ how to defeat them." Professor Lupin clapped his hands together. "Spread out in a semicircle around the wardrobe. That's it, Neville; you too, Harry."

Snape snorted as he collected his things from the table. "You're going to have Longbottom perform a spell? Are you asking for trouble? He's not only hopeless but useless to boot."

"I'm sure Neville will perform the spell admirably. He just needs the right teacher," Remus boasted.

The dig hit it's mark, and Snape sneered at Remus. _Bloody marauder. Always thinks he knows better than me._ Snape almost growled before he stormed out of the room.

 _How is it that he can get away with treating students like that? Why hasn't Professor Dumbledore gotten rid of him?_ Isa was fuming, and she wasn't the only one. All of us Gryffindors were furious. Snape was walking on a razor's edge, and I was afraid that if Dumbledore didn't pull him into line soon, he'd have a revolt on his hands.

But Snape's thought about the marauders had caught my attention. I would have to talk to Remus and get more information from him; it might give me some more insight into our grumpiest professor.

"Back to it," Professor Lupin called as the wardrobe gave an ominous rattle and shake behind him. "Can anyone guess what might be in here?"

Isa's hand shot into the air. Just because we weren't going to take part in the practical aspect didn't mean we couldn't answer questions.

"Yes, Bella?" Remus was another who believed in calling us by our first names.

"That, sir, is a boggart."

"Excellent. Ten points for Gryffindor! Let's recap our last lesson. Inside this cupboard is indeed a boggart, as Bella so admirably stated. I told you the other day that it's easy to combat one. Who can tell me what kills a boggart?"

"Hermione?"

"Laughter, sir."

"Yes, excellent; laughter will kill a boggart." Lupin finished. "Well done, Hermione. Another ten points to Gryffindor."

The wardrobe gave another ominous rattle.

"Does anyone know what a boggart looks like?"

I grabbed Isa's hand when it went to shoot up again. _Why not, Teddy?_

"Because we'd be interrogated by not only Professor Lupin but everyone else. Maybe once we've finished school and can track them down more, but for now, let it lie."

Isa nodded.

"No? That's because a boggart takes the shape of what the person fears most; it's what makes them so terrifying. A boggart is known as a shape-shifting non-being. He will sit alone, in the dark, not yet assuming a form because he doesn't know what the person on the other side of the door will fear most. When I open this door, and he comes out, he will become whatever each of us fears. The boggart likes confined spaces but may also lurk in forests and shadowy corners. It always lets those around know it's there by rattling, shaking, or scratching whatever the object it is hiding in."

As if to prove his point, scratching sounded from inside, and the whole wardrobe shook.

"We have an advantage over the boggart though. Can anyone tell me what that is?" Lupin looked around to see that nobody had their hands up. "Nobody? Harry?"

"Uh … because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape to take?" Harry answered, but it sounded like more of a question.

"Very good. We need to create our own opportunity for laughter, but because laughter won't work alone, we need to use a charm. Which charm do we use?"

"Riddikulus," the class said together.

"Good, again!" Everyone but Isa and I repeated it again. "Now, Neville, can you tell me what you fear the most?"

"Professor Snape," Neville whispered. It was almost too quiet, but Remus heard him and laughed.

"Yes, Professor Snape can be quite scary. You also have a grandmother, right?"

Neville nodded frantically. "Yes, but I don't want it to turn into her either," he said, causing everyone to laugh.

Professor Lupin placed Neville directly in front of the wardrobe and situated everyone on either side of him. "Edward, Bella, do you want to join in?"

We both smiled at Professor Lupin but Isa answered him. "You've already taught us that, sir, so we'll sit out of this one."

Lupin smiled back at us. "Fair enough. Everyone else, wands at the ready." Remus made his way around the group, then came back to Neville. "I want you to do something for me, Neville. I want you to just picture your grandmother's clothes."

"She has this red handbag, and a huge hat …"

"You don't need to tell us, just picture it. If you see it, we'll see it." Neville nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Ready."

Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the wardrobe, causing the door to open ever so slowly. We all waited with baited breath for the boggart to come out of the wardrobe. Those around the wardrobe were wondering if Neville's biggest fear was, in fact, Severus Snape.

Just as one of the girls was about to exclaim that there was nothing in the wardrobe, a shiny, leather-covered foot stepped out. Black pants with buttons running up the leg followed, then an arm covered in a black jacket with a black shirt peeked out at the end. By the time the boggart had completed its slow anticipatory climb out of the wardrobe, one severe-looking Snape stood in front of Neville.

"You can do it, Neville!" Isa cheered. "Cast the spell!"

Neville held his wand out in front of him, a little shakily, but relayed the charm in a clear voice. "Riddikulus."

Neville's spell shot out of the end of his wand, hitting the Snape look-a-like smack in the chest, making him take a few steps backward. Almost the minute the spell hit, the clothes he was wearing seemed to change, not only color but style as well, in one rolling wave from his feet to his head.

By the time the spell had finished "Professor Snape" looked ridiculous.

On his feet were brown ankle boots with a small heel, then stockings, and a green tweed power suit with a lace petticoat peeking out the bottom of the skirt. He had a white lace shirt under the green tweed jacket, black lace gloves wrapped around his hands, and the most garish stuffed fox wrapped around his neck. In his hand was a giant red handbag, but the absolute worst part had to be the huge monstrosity of a vulture perched on top of a very pointy witch's hat on his head.

It was so damn ridiculous it was hilarious!

The laughter coming from everyone in the room seemed to confuse the thing, so much so that it stumbled over its feet only for it to stop in front of Pavarti Patil. The boggart sucked itself into its swirling mass before it spun out one last time, becoming a very bloody mummy all wrapped up in bandages.

To those closest to Pavarti, plus Isa and I, were able to hear her suck in a surprised gasp. But with little fanfare, she raised her wand, said the spell, and then burst into laughter with the rest of the class when the bandages unraveled releasing the head and causing it to roll across the floor.

Once it stopped in front of Seamus, it pulled into the swirling mass again. Seamus took a small step backward just as a banshee burst out of it, wailing like someone was murdering her. She was grotesque. Long dark hair, with a mouth wide open almost like her jaw was unhinged. Her gnarled hands reached out toward him from a long tattered and torn dress that had seen better days. If she wasn't so damn loud, I may have felt sorry for her.

I couldn't say I blamed Seamus for that fear; it wasn't a pretty sight.

Seamus said the spell with a little more force, and a lot louder, than the others had before. But once he had, the class burst out into laughter again with Isa and me chuckling along. His spell had turned the banshee into a large black garden rat that continued to chase its tail all over the floor.

Eventually, it ended up in front of Dean, turning into what Muggles would refer to as Thing from The Addams Family. It was funny; out of everything in this magical world, more of the students seemed to be freaked out over this, a hand, than anything else.

"Why is this so scary?" I leaned down to ask Isa.

She looked up at me, startled. "It's not for you?" I shook my head. "Why not?"

"Because they made a movie, in the muggle world, where there was a character, like this"—I pointed at Thing still running around—"and he was a member of the family."

"Huh." Isa looked at the hand. "What's a movie?"

I chuckled at her and shook my head. "I forget that sometimes you haven't seen the things I have. Over Christmas break, I'll take you to see one, okay?"

Isa nodded and we turned back just in time to see Dean cast his charm and causing the entire class to chuckle when he got it caught in a mouse trap. The poor thing was able to move, but only just, which I thought was even funnier. The only problem was it ended up in front of Harry.

Just as the boggart pulled itself into the swirling mass, Professor Lupin stepped in front of him, confusing not just the class but me too. It seemed our professor had blocked his mind using Occlumency. When the boggart appeared again, there was a full moon emerging from the cover of clouds; only those of us in the know knew what that particular visual meant.

With a smile on his face, Lupin waved his wand and spoke softly. "Riddikulus!" When his spell hit the moon, it transformed into a large cockroach, causing the girls to squeal and the boys to laugh at them. It was ridiculous how funny the boys thought it was. "Well, now, you're just being facetious, riddikulus."

Remus waved his wand again. Mid-jump, the cockroach started to swirl just before a large white rabbit wearing a top hat, the cliché muggle magic rabbit, finished the jump. Every child, including Isa, who had grown up around just magic, burst out into laughter. I smiled at the level of hilarity they found in it.

The rabbit hopped around the room before finally coming to a stop in front of Neville. Once again, the boggart pulled into the swirling mass before stepping out as Professor Snape. Neville didn't even hesitate; he pulled up his wand and cast the charm, putting Snape back into his grandmother's clothes.

This time, the classroom full of children, including Isa and I, let loose great big belly laughs. So much so that the boggart pulled itself back into the swirling mass before exploding into a puff of smoke.

"Well done, everyone; well done!" Lupin called. "You've all had a hand in defeating the boggart!"

We all cheered at that. Professor Lupin was so far the best DADA teacher we had.

"Now for your homework." Cue the groans; I chuckled aloud. "I know, I know; homework sucks. But it is part of your curriculum and part of your grade. For this one, I want you to use one roll of parchment and summarize the boggart. Including how to defeat them!"

~*~UHS~*~

The last week of September was aggravating.

It wasn't a surprise that Snape had found out what had happened during our lesson in the staff room, and it wasn't a surprise that he hated it. What was a surprise was that Dumbledore let him get away with being increasingly surly to not only Neville, but Harry as well.

Due to the fact that Snape was an accomplished Occlumens, he was able to keep most of his thoughts hidden from me. It was easy to figure out why he was upset with Neville, but why he included Harry in that was a mystery, until the first of October, just before Quidditch practice was set to start.

I was walking between classes when Professor Snape's mind slipped. It seemed that the reason Snape tried so hard to push Harry away was because of the look of his eyes. I'd never really studied him close enough to identify, but according to Snape, Harry had his mother's eyes. And that made him jealous of epic proportions. He couldn't take it out on James, so Harry was the next best target.

I couldn't understand why Professor Dumbledore trusted him so much. So, he'd changed sides when he found out Lily was in trouble. He was a confirmed Death Eater before that. And from what I had heard, once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater.

I told Isa my thoughts one day. Her words were surprising to say the least.

"Once a red-eyed blood drinker, always a red-eyed blood drinker," she murmured, almost apologetically. "Look, I don't trust him. I probably never will. But you wouldn't be who you are without the things you've lived through and the second chances awarded to you. Professor Dumbledore is trying to give Professor Snape that. If it makes you feel better, write down all his transgressions and keep them. We may need it in the future."

I thought about what she had said and realized that she was right. I had forgiven myself for my rogue period, but she was right, I wouldn't be who I was without all my experiences. Snape could change, he could have changed, but I couldn't see it. He seemed to be a bully to me. I decided I would take Isa's advice and log everything, right back from when we started.

~*~UHS~*~

"I think we may have to ask the Room of Requirement next, Edward," Neville murmured, sitting next to me. "I think we've just about exhausted all of the transfiguration options here in the library."

We'd had a rare night off from Quidditch practice, and homework, yet we were still in the library. Everyone had kept their word when it came to helping Isa and I try to gain our animagus forms. Even the twins, although theirs was twofold because they wanted to gain their forms too.

"What have you got?" Neville handed over a list that he'd been working on. We'd all taken different books in different sections. "These are great, Neville; thank you. Keep making notes so I can compare all of them. And you're right; that's the next step, I think."

"No worries." He sat back down near the books he was reading.

I looked down at my beautiful girl. She was reading through a book while making notes about what she was reading, but what made me smile was the fact that her left hand had a hold of my mother's diamond heart charm necklace, which I'd given her for her birthday. She never took it off. I couldn't be happier. I leaned over to see what she was working so intently on. "Haven't you finished that yet, Isa?"

"Hmm?" she blinked up at me.

"That's the boggart assignment. I thought you'd finished it?"

"Oh. I have; I'm just putting some things in that I missed before."

I lifted the corner of the sheets she was working through, skimming them. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Professor Lupin said one parchment, my girl. Are you aiming for another entry into the curriculum?"

My beautiful girl let loose a quiet but beautiful giggle. "No!" Isa looked down at the four parchments she'd written. "I suppose it's a bit much. But I can't help it. I just want to include everything."

"I know you do." I kissed the top of her head. "But maybe leave some for the rest of us."

A stunning blush spread across her cheeks. "I'll try. Oh! Before I forget." She searched through the paperwork she had all stacked in front of her. "Here. I've found some charms that might work instead of just transfiguration ones. Mum always tells us to think outside the box; I thought these might help."

I froze, looking them over. Isa was brilliant. It was something I had forgotten to do in all this time trying to get my mint to work. Look outside the box.

"Thank you," I breathed. "Oh, my God, thank you."

My brain was suddenly off and running in all different directions. Isa had sparked something in me, something that I had overlooked. What I had in mind would take time, but I thought it would be exactly what I needed.

Isa smiled at me. "You're welcome." She giggled. "Go; we'll catch up with you in the Common Room later. I'll grab your things."

I kissed her forehead roughly again before getting up from the table. The last thing I heard as I made it to the stairs was Hermione asking where I was going in such a hurry.

I spent the next several hours in the Room of Requirement, arranging and rearranging spells and charms, trying to get the right combination. Eventually, I came up with several different ones that were going to take time to test, but I was looking forward to testing them.

I would give Isa the chance to become an Animagus; I was just hoping I could do the same.

~*~UHS~*~

Quidditch practice had started in earnest for all except Draco on the Slytherin team. His father was pushing for Draco to milk his injury for all it was worth. Draco hated it. But he knew this was the best idea to keep his and his mother's positions a secret. Draco was dedicated to helping from the inside, but I was becoming concerned with the toll it was going to take on him and Narcissa. They were going to need copious amounts of help when this was all over.

October brought some successes and some failures, but I was getting closer to creating my mint. Although, I wasn't sure it was going to end up being a mint. That's where I was coming from when I bumped into Harry outside the portrait of the Fat Lady as he was coming back from practice.

"How's it going?"

"Ugh … I think Wood is going all out this year due to it being his final year. Practice has been more brutal than ever."

I chuckled. "You can't blame him really. This is the first streak that Gryffindor has had in quite some time. If it was my last year, I'd want my team to go out in a blaze of glory too."

Harry whispered this week's password to the Fat Lady. Thanks to Rabastan Lestrange being loose, Professor Dumbledore had implemented a new rule: the passwords for each common room were to be changed every week. It was a hope that if he got inside the castle, he wouldn't be able to get inside any of the rooms.

"I guess I would too," Harry continued our conversation.

The noise level inside the Common Room was pretty quiet; most people were reading or studying, including our little group. Hermione and Isa were sitting in my small section, the twins over by the fireplace, and Neville was at the tables where Harry joined him after getting rid of his Quidditch gear.

"Getting it all done?" I asked, sitting down in my chair and picking up the Arithmancy book I was making my way through. It was a fascinating subject, but I was glad I was doing this subject on my own.

Isa and Hermione nodded but kept focused on what they were reading. If we thought things were difficult the last couple of years, this one was more. Although I had the feeling that things were only going to get harder the higher up we went. Especially considering what Isa and I had planned for later.

As I sat there reading, I let my mind scan through all the thoughts floating around in Gryffindor tower. It was the first time I picked up something that wasn't quite right. Not a minute later, Crookshanks came screeching into the room, chasing none other than Scabbers.

 _Gotta get the rat …_ I chuckled because that's exactly what I thought would be a cat's thoughts if he were chasing a rat. But his next thoughts caught me off guard. It made me listen closer, trying to find the rat. _Not what he's supposed to be …_

I focused on Scabbers streaking across the room. While I couldn't read his thoughts, exactly, they were more evolved than any other rat I had encountered before. I cycled through the ways that Cortesia had taught me, finding something blocking Scabbers thoughts. It was like a weaker version of Occlumency.

I was interrupted from my observations by Ron flying down the stairs. "Hermione! Get that fleaball away from my Scabbers!" he demanded vaulting over a chair before diving under another, chasing the cat and the rat. "If you don't stop it, I will!"

Hermione shot up from her chair, calling out to Crookshanks, and catching him as he tried to run between her legs. "It's okay, Crookshanks," she cooed. "Is the nasty boy trying to hurt you?"

"He's trying to eat my rat! Keep that murderer away from Scabbers!" Ron practically yelled after he'd managed to get ahold of the damn rat.

"Hey," I growled, standing. "You do not talk to a woman that way."

For once, Ron showed, what I thought to be, the appropriate amount of fear. He froze, his face paled, and he took a couple steps backward.

"The cat was just doing what cats do. They chase rodents. If you don't want your rat being chased then keep it in its cage." I held my hand up when he went to argue. "Otherwise, keep a better eye on your pet, Ronald. Now, apologize to Hermione for shouting at her."

"Sorry, Hermione." Ron stormed back up the stairs to the second-year dormitory. He was both embarrassed and furious, but mostly, embarrassed.

Hermione brought Crookshanks into my nook. He had become accustomed to our presence in his life, and as such, didn't hiss anymore when I reached out to give him a tickle under the chin. He didn't, however, know that I could hear his partial thoughts.

"Everything good, Crookshanks?"

He let out a loud purr at my ministrations before releasing a thought. _Rat, not rat._ I gave him another pat, contemplating his words.

I was going to have to keep a much sharper eye on Scabbers the rat.

 _Everything okay?_ Isa asked me as I sat back down. I nodded before writing down what I heard. _Hmm. That is interesting. We'll keep an eye on it._

"That we will."

~*~UHS~*~

A few days later, we were once again sitting around working on homework when Hagrid's big owl, Lily, flew through one of the open windows in the Common Room. She tried landing on Isa's shoulder before realizing that she was way too big, so she landed next to Isa's homework.

"Hello, pretty girl," Isa cooed. "What have you got there?" Lily held out her leg, showing that she had a letter attached there. "Why, thank you. Here, have a treat." Hermione handed Isa one of the treats we kept handy for Athan and Saffy because they were in and out so often.

Lily hooted back softly before taking off and flying back out the window. Isa looked at the envelope, turning it around before gasping quietly.

"Oh dear," she murmured before ripping it open. "Oh, Hagrid."

"What's going on, Bella?" Hermione asked.

"I'm still reading, but it has to be bad. Look at the envelope." Isa slid it over to Hermione before she slid it to me.

Looking down at the envelope, I could see and smell the big splotches of tears that had smudged what Hagrid had written, and all that he'd written was Isa's name. I let her read it quietly because I knew she'd tell us when she'd finished.

"We need to get to the library," Isa exclaimed quietly, quickly starting to pack up.

"Whoa, pretty girl." I reached over and grabbed her hand, stopping all movement. "What's going on?"

Isa stopped, took a deep breath, and then sat down, looking around at our little group. "As you know, with any incident at school where a student is hurt, Professor McGonagall writes home to let the parents know. Even if the student in question doesn't want that to happen." Isa paused, waiting for all of us to nod our understanding. "Well, that happened when Draco was injured by Buckbeak. Now … now Daddy Malfoy has gone to the Ministry. There's going to be a trial for Buckbeak."

Isa slammed the letter down on the table in front of us. We could see where Hagrid had been crying harder while writing it because there were more splotches. "Hagrid is beside himself because he doesn't know what to do. We need to help him prepare a defense, hence getting to the library."

"Well, then, let's get going," Harry said, standing. "Buckbeak deserves it."

I nodded. "You're right, he does. But he also deserves our best, and we aren't going to be doing that tonight. You all need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is Saturday; we can spend the day in the library getting things ready for him."

As if to prove my point, Neville let out a huge yawn, making everyone laugh. "I have to agree." He yawned again. "I've been fighting sleep for the last half hour. I won't be any good to anyone tonight."

Isa sighed and looked around at us. I knew that if she said jump we'd all pack our things and head to the library. "Okay. Tomorrow. We have to protect Buckbeak; he did nothing wrong," she said before leaning forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Though neither did Draco. I know why he did it, and it sucks that things are going so far." We all nodded. "Let's get some sleep and start fresh in the morning."

With those words, everyone packed up their homework and other things and trudged up to their dormitories. Everyone except Isa. I could see from her thoughts that she just wanted to snuggle with me. The whole thing with Buckbeak had shaken her; that someone could be so misunderstanding of the whole ordeal, so cruel toward an animal, just boggled her mind.

Isa didn't understand it at all.

Once she was finished with her nighttime ritual and was dressed in her pajamas, she crawled up onto my lap.

"Are you okay, baby girl?"

"Does this happen in the muggle world?"

"Ooo, good question." I sighed. "Unfortunately, it does happen, and as much as I don't want to admit it, a lot worse."

Isa tipped her head back to look at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"It's bad when people report animals for behavior such as what happened with Buckbeak, even if they're the ones who instigate it. But worse still is when they're the ones who cause it. When they hurt the animal first."

"Hurt?" Isa gasped. "People hurt animals?"

I nodded. "It might seem shocking, but is that any different from how, say, Lucius Malfoy treating Dobby? Or how Sirius's mom may have treated Kreacher?"

Isa opened her mouth to argue the point but stopped and really thought it over, snapping her mouth closed. After a moment or two, she shook her head. "I suppose not."

"Cruelty comes in many, many forms. From the way humans treat each other, and the way they treat animals. It's everywhere. It's how we combat it that makes the difference. And we're going to start that tomorrow when we help fight for Buckbeak. At least in this world, he gets a trial where people can fight for him; it doesn't happen often in the Muggle world, especially for a wild animal."

Isa nodded again and snuggled in for the night. I wrapped her in both a blanket and my arms and thought about the fight we were starting in the morning. We were going to take on not only Lucius Malfoy, but the Ministry as well. Isa was right, though; it wasn't fair. If it hadn't been for Crabbe and Goyle egging Draco on, he wouldn't have approached Buckbeak to prove a point. The worst part in all of this, though, was that we couldn't even use our memories as proof because it would put Draco's sensitive position in jeopardy.

I spent the night wondering if there was any precedent for what we were about to do. Surely, we could find something, and if not, I'm sure we could use the Room of Requirement for some. It seemed that room was a living, breathing entity sometimes. It was almost like it was the mind reader.

Considering that the next day was Saturday, everyone was up early. We'd had breakfast and were setting up in the library before it had even hit eight o'clock.

"Okay, Fred, George, I want you searching through the animal books for anything that could help," Isa directed, "Neville, Harry, talk to Madam Pince and see if she can point us in any sort of direction. The four of us"—she pointed to Hermione, Ginny, me, and herself—"are going to check the law books to see if there is anything that has come before."

The twins saluted with a cheeky wink before heading off. Harry and Neville gave her a "yes, ma'am" while Isa kissed my cheek with a giggle before she got up too.

"Let's get to it." I nodded in the direction Isa had gone, causing Ginny and Hermione to follow her. "We've got work to do."

~*~UHS~*~

We spent most of that Saturday trying to make a case for Buckbeak; in fact, we spent every spare minute we had during the month of October doing just that. Isa was determined, and that determination rubbed off on the rest of us. Just before the first trip to Hogsmeade was due to happen, we thought we'd had a pretty good defense.

Halloween was the first time we were to go to Hogsmeade, and Isa was up early. She came bounding down the stairs all excited. "Morning, Teddy!"

"Good morning, Isa. Why are you up so early today?"

"We're getting out of the castle today, but first, I have to go down to Hagrid and give him this." She waved some cue cards around. "I hoped Hagrid would feel more comfortable if we wrote them down this way instead of that huge roll of parchment we had."

I waved her over and pulled her onto my lap with a kiss on her forehead. "You're probably right. Did you want me to come with you?"

She shook her head. "No. I want to do this myself. I'm going to stay and eat breakfast with him and go over them. I'll meet you at the front doors when it's time to leave."

"Be careful, my girl. See you later."

Isa kissed my cheek before beaming and making her way out through the portrait. She thought we had a very good chance to win the case against Lucius Malfoy and the Ministry. I hoped for her sake she was right because to lose was going to really hurt her.

I was afraid it would cause her to do something stupid. Because my Isa was nothing if not passionate about animals.

Hermione was the first one to come down after Isa. She'd heard her get up and wanted to give us some time together; as such, she was surprised when Isa wasn't with me.

"Isa went down to see Hagrid this morning. She's going to catch up with us."

Hermione nodded. "What are you planning for today?"

"A surprise for Isa. I'm going to take her out on another date."

Hermione cooed. "That's wonderful. You guys get to experience so much and know exactly where your relationship is going."

"Doesn't mean we won't work at it. Just because we're guaranteed doesn't mean we shouldn't show our love every day, just like those who don't know what's going to happen."

"That's a lovely way to look at it. Something I'll keep in mind in the future …" Hermione trailed off as Harry and Neville came down for the day dressed in their casual wear.

That wasn't to say Hermione didn't look beautiful because she did. Alice had gifted the girls some clothes that matched not only their personality but their bodies and ages. This year, we only had to wear our uniforms during class. Any other time, we were allowed to dress for ourselves.

I snickered as neither Harry nor Neville even noticed what Hermione was wearing. They waved hello but continued on through the portrait to get breakfast. I knew girls grew up faster than boys, having seen it many times before, but it never failed to amuse me.

"Shut up, Edward." Hermione threw a pillow at me, which caused me to laugh louder.

I stood, reaching out my arm. Once Hermione stopped pouting, she stood and looped her arm with mine. "Don't worry, little sis. Girls aren't on their minds yet. Don't give up on him, but be patient, okay?"

"Okay." Hermione blushed as she smiled. And with that, we made our way to breakfast.

After breakfast, we walked out the front doors to find that a crowd of excitable third years, plus many from across the older classes, were there waiting to head to Hogsmeade. And out in front was my beautiful girl. Hermione and I made our way to her, with Hermione giving her a hug, and I leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek.

We all spoke quietly until Professor McGonagall walked out with Filch and stood on the steps in front of the doors.

"Everyone, please, quiet." Professor McGonagall held up her hands until we were all quiet and facing her. "For those of you who haven't returned your permission slips, please hand them over to Mr. Filch now so he can check them." While some of the students lined up to hand the slips over, Professor McGonagall kept talking. "These visits to Hogsmeade are a privilege, and your behavior reflects on the school. So, should you behave badly, your permission will be revoked.

"Other than that, have fun. Now, follow me."

Isa looped her arm around mine but talked to Hermione and Luna, who walked alongside us, as we followed Professor McGonagall out of the courtyard and down to where we were dropped off by the Thestrals and carriages when we arrived at school. There waiting in line were a group of the carriages and Thestrals ready to take us into Hogsmeade. Isa smiled and patted the nose of one of them when it leaned down and nudged her.

The Thestrals really were quite ugly, and I hated saying that, but they were. The best way to describe them was to say they were horses but had a head similar to a dragon. Instead of a covering of fur, their skin was tight over their bodies, showing every bone, but the stand out feature of the Thestrals was their wings. Large, leathery, and bat-like, the Thestrals curled them up against themselves. I suppose they'd be the embodiment of the adage: they are so ugly they're cute. But if nothing else, I respected them for their respect of Isa, and Luna, who patted them as she walked by as well.

Our group, including Luna, climbed up into the carriage that was closest and held on because the start was always rough. It was like the Thestrals were in such a hurry to get going they forgot there was a carriage behind them, and they take off with a jerk.

We were all quiet to start with until the carriage made it through the gates of Hogwarts.

I was the one who spoke first after turning to Isa. "What happened with Hagrid this morning?"

"It went well. He was grateful for everything we did, but I don't know." Isa sighed before showing me what happened.

 _Isa made her way down to Hagrid's hut, keeping an eye out on her surroundings. Not that she thought Lestrange would attempt something so early in the morning._

If anything, _she snorted,_ I'd bet on making a move during the early night, just when it's getting dark. I would.

 _She saw and waved at James when she saw his stag roaming close to the edge of the forest and gave Buckbeak a scruff on the head when she walked through the pumpkin patch, only to knock on Hagrid's door._

" _Why 'ello, Bella. What're you doin' 'ere? Aren't you goin' to Hogsmeade?"_

" _I am. But I wanted to have breakfast with you first. Plus, I have something to give you."_

" _Well, come on in." Hagrid held the door open, letting Isa in through the door._

 _While Hagrid served Isa breakfast, they spoke about nothing in particular, mostly about the different animals Hagrid had looked after over the years. They were drinking their tea when Hagrid asked what Isa had brought with her._

 _Isa slid over the cue cards she'd made. "When I read the letter you wrote to me, I wanted to do something to help. When I told the others, they wanted to help too. We've spent as much time as we could over the last few weeks researching other incidents for you and trying to come up with a defense for Buckbeak. We hope these help."_

 _Hagrid sniffled as he picked up the cards and attempted to look them over but ended up dropping them. "Oh, Bella, I'm sorry."_

" _It's okay. I have them numbered so if you do that, you can just put them back in order." Isa helped to pick them up and put them back in order again. Hagrid left them on the table to look over them one at a time._

" _Thank yeh, Bella. I don't know what to say."_

 _Isa stood, wrapped her arms around Hagrid's neck—because he was still sitting at the table—and held on tight. "You're welcome, Hagrid. Let me know how it goes, okay?"_

" _I will." Hagrid looked over at the wall. "Oh, look at the time. Yeh'd better be goin' before yeh run out of it."_

 _Isa planted a kiss on Hagrid's cheek before moving toward the door. "Good luck. I'll see you later!"_

 _Then Isa walked out the door._

"I think he may end up being too nervous," Isa whispered. "He's not going to handle being in the spotlight well."

"We can only hope for the best."

The trip to Hogsmeade wasn't long. In fact, we reached town a few minutes after our conversation. All of the carriages stopped at the opposite end of town from the train station, meaning we could wander all along the main street and visit every shop along the way.

"What are we all doing first?" Isa asked as we climbed out of the carriage.

"Hmm, I don't know what the others are doing," I started, "but we're going to have another date."

"Yay!" Isa clapped her hands. "We haven't been on one of those for a while. What about everyone else?"

Luna answered, "We haven't decided what we're doing yet. But we'll meet you guys later though?"

"Yeah. Say mid-afternoon, the Three Broomsticks?"

"Sounds good," Fred and George called, already walking away. "We're going to Zonko's first!"

Harry snorted. "That doesn't surprise me. I wonder whether it's for research or to actually buy something."

"Knowing them, both." Neville laughed. "Harry and I are going to Honeydukes. Since Esme paid for my schoolbooks, I have money to spend. I want some candy."

"I want to go to Bundles of Books. Luna, you want to come?" Luna nodded. "Want us to check for anything?" Hermione asked, looping her arm with Luna's.

"Oh, you know; the usual!" Isa laughed.

"Right," Hermione nodded. "Transfiguration, charms, or anything from our lessons. Meet you at the Three Broomsticks!"

We waved as I held my arm out to Isa. She wrapped both of hers around mine and leaned her head against my arm. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to wander a little bit but make our way to Madam Puddifoot's Teashop where we'll have our date."

"Sounds like a plan."

We walked around the end closest to Hogwarts first, investigating some of the places on the way to the teashop, like Dervish and Banges. It was a shop that sold and repaired magical instruments, anything from wands, to cauldrons, to watches. We also looked in the Spice Bazaar where I managed to find some interesting ingredients that might help me in my potions. And the Muggle Shop, which we found interesting, considering that Hogsmeade was the only completely magical town in Britain.

We found Madam Puddifoot's located on a side road off of High Street—the main street of Hogsmeade—right at the very end. It was out of the way, a little shabby looking from the outside, and the windows were not only foggy but filled with cakes and other desserts.

We opened the door to walk inside only to have the bell above us ring out with a cheery little jingle. At the sound, a pretty but stout woman with black hair fixed in a bun started weaving in and around all of the closely fit chairs and tables that had been placed inside the rather … tacky teashop.

 _This was not what I was expecting,_ I thought, looking around at the many, many frills that had been placed around. I could see Isa wrinkle her nose a little before she looked up at me. She was unable to say anything because the lady had reached us.

"Welcome! Are you here for a table?"

I looked down at Isa to see what she thought. _We're here, might as well see if the food is better than the place._

"Yes, please. For two."

I listened to our host as we followed her to a secluded table near a window. _Such a lovely couple. It's so nice to see Hogwarts allowing different breeds of witches and wizards to join. The poor dears, though, I'll bet they've had a lot of trouble with others not understanding their relationship._

It was so nice to hear someone accept our bond for what it was, and not think it sinister.

"Here you go, nice and secluded. I'm Madam Puddifoot," she introduced herself while handing us menus. "Please make yourselves comfortable, and I'll be back in a little bit to take your orders."

I helped Isa out of her coat and hat before I pulled her chair out and then slid it in as she sat before sitting down myself. Before I opened my menu, I slid my hand across the table and waiting for Isa to place hers in mine. Today was a day where the mating bond wanted us to have some sort of skin-to-skin contact. It wasn't sexual in any way; it just wanted to be connected. Isa let out a little sigh as she placed her hand in mine.

We both smiled at each other before we opened the menus. But just as I was about to start reading mine, Madam Puddifoot came back to our table. "Here you are, dear. I think you'll enjoy what's on this one much better."

I looked down to realize she'd brought a menu geared toward vampires instead of everyday humans. She really was accepting of our relationship. While the decorations were gaudy, I couldn't imagine a better place to eat.

"What are you thinking of ordering, sweet girl?"

She looked over the menu quietly, just letting me hear everything she was thinking. "I think I want some strawberry tea and a couple scones with jam, please?"

It was at that point I heard Madam Puddifoot's thoughts. She'd been watching us. _Such a sweet couple. He's such a gentleman. I don't see many young men pulling out chairs for their sweethearts anymore. I'll bet he'll even place her order for her._

I smiled at my girl before looking up and catching Madam Puddifoot's eye. She knew it was a signal for her to come over for our orders.

"What can I get you, kids?"

"We'd like one cup of strawberry tea, one cup of heated dragon's blood, two of your best scones with some strawberry jam, and some black pudding, please?"

"Of course. I'll be right out with that."

Isa and I were quiet as she waddled back toward the kitchen before we turned and smiled at each other.

"Do you have any idea how much you've changed my life?" I asked Isa quietly. I'm not sure I meant to ask, but it started a conversation that we both needed. Then it seemed that once we started talking, we couldn't stop. Even when Madam Puddifoot delivered our orders.

We covered a wide range of topics; things we hadn't discussed. Like what we wanted to do after we graduated from Hogwarts. It was something we hadn't really spoken about. But with Isa listing things she wanted to do—Auror, Professor, Inventor— it made me realize something quite profound, so much so that I became quiet.

"Something wrong, Teddy?"

I looked up; I hadn't noticed that I'd looked out through the window. I looked at Isa and smiled. From her thoughts, it was one she hadn't seen before. It was happy, relieved, and almost completely crooked. She loved it.

I laughed at her thoughts, feeling all of those things. "I'm fine, beautiful. I just realized that after I've finished my schooling here at Hogwarts, I can get a job. I won't have to repeat school over and over again. I truly don't need to hide anymore." I slumped back in my chair. It was another weight off my shoulders. I'd be able to take care of Isa and any children we'd be blessed with. "I can be the grown up I've felt like for the last hundred or so years."

Isa smiled and reached over with both hands, hanging onto mine. "I'm so glad you can have that now, Edward." The use of my real name made sure she held my attention, not that she didn't anyway. "What do you think you're going to do with your newfound life?" she smirked.

I barked a startled laugh because I was still in shock with my epiphany. "I have no idea. There's so much I want to do. I think I want to spend some time looking over the career opportunities."

"I'm sure we can find some information somewhere. The school should have something. Besides, Edward, you have all the time in the world to do just about everything you've ever wanted."

I managed to lean over the tiny table and give Isa a soft, loving kiss on the forehead before leaning mine on hers and looking into her eyes. "Thank you, sweetheart; thank you."

Isa just smiled at me, completely entranced, just like I was. We sat like that until we were interrupted by a soft coo from Madam Puddifoot before her thoughts entered my mind. _Oh, they're so sweet. Just look at them. Love, so much love._

I smiled at her thoughts as I pulled back from Isa. "I think it's time to go," I whispered.

"Yeah," Isa sighed dreamily, causing me to chuckle. That seemed to pull her out of her revere. She looked around, catching our illustrious host's eyes. "Yeah, let's go."

I paid for our food before helping Isa stand and put her coat back on, all under the watchful, romantic eyes of Madam Puddifoot. Isa was struggling not to giggle at the lovesick look on the Madam's face.

"Thank you for a wonderful morning tea, Madam Puddifoot. It truly was delicious."

"You are so welcome. Please bring yourself and your sweet little mate back anytime."

 _We just might. This place is better than I thought._ Isa scrunched up her face once we'd turned from Madam Puddifoot and made our way to the door. _Well, maybe not._ She took in the shop again before looking up at me. _Food was good though._

I laugh at her thoughts. "That it was, Isa; that it was."

~*~UHS~*~

We spend the next hour or so walking around and enjoying the stores in the main street. We laughed at some of the things in Zonko's Joke Shop because they really were hilarious. I bought Isa some sweets from Honeydukes, and of course, we had to stop in at the bookstore. Although we didn't buy anything because we weren't sure if Hermione and Luna had got us anything.

After looking at the time, we decided it was time to make our way to the Three Broomsticks. We noticed all of our friends standing around outside joking and carrying on. But it was Harry I was paying close attention to. He was enjoying the time with the others, but I could see the constant staring and whispering—that was still going on—was getting to him. Out here, there were no teachers to control what the students were talking about.

"Okay, Harry?" I asked quietly when we'd arrived at their sides.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Just, this is getting old." He waved his hand around.

I nodded. "I can imagine. Shall we head inside?" My question was asked louder, catching everyone's attention. Everyone nodded their heads and turned toward the door. Fred was closest so he opened the door and held it open for all of us to get through. "Thanks, Fred."

"No worries. Have a good date?"

I smiled but looked at the floor, feeling a little bashful. "Yes, it was …" I trailed off. I didn't know how to finish the sentence.

Fred laughed, slapped me on the shoulder, and followed me through the door, as I was the last one. "Good to hear, mate. I figure they'll only get better."

The eight of us made our way to the bar to place our orders.

"Where shall we sit?" Isa asked.

"I think we should sit with Professor Lupin; he's looking a bit lonely," Hermione commented. "What do you guys think?"

"Sounds good." We all agreed before making our way over there.

Remus was happy to have someone to talk to, even if it was his students. Well, students, as well as those he considered family.

Harry was quiet for some time, just taking in the atmosphere. But I could also see what he was thinking about. He wasn't hiding anything from me. He'd been to see both Sirius and Shane with Neville earlier. They had bought or rented a house here in Hogsmeade to be close this year, and so far, it had worked out well. They had been able to patrol the grounds, and Harry felt that much safer because they were near, as well as Remus and the rest of us.

But still, he had a question for the man sitting here with us. And with the first lull in conversation, he decided he wanted to ask. But instead of being calm, it was kinda blurted out so fast that Remus had to ask him to repeat himself.

"What was that, Harry? I didn't understand."

Harry took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and then asked again. "Why did you step in between me and the boggart?"

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm so what will Professor Lupin say? And Rabastan Lestrange has been spotted, how long will he be free?**

 **Thank you for reading, see you all in a fortnight.**


	7. Chapter Six - Change in the Weather

**Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a good fortnight. We've been having a heat wave here, down under, and trying to stay cool has been trying. I've also gone back to school this week, with two assignments due next week, so finding time to write has been difficult. I'm glad that I have my chapters pre-written.**

 **I want to thank Pienuniek and Sally for all their help. I wouldn't be here without either of them. Thank you, both, for all you do.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See me at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six – Change in the Weather**

"Why did I stop you facing the boggart?" Lupin asked, causing Harry to nod. "Well, I thought that would have been obvious."

"Not to me. Shouldn't I want to face my fear?"

The rest of us stayed quiet. This was something Harry had to talk about with Remus. Probably not the best place for it to happen, and it really should have been with just the two of them. But from Harry's thoughts, he was glad we were there for support.

Remus sat back, having not thought about that. "You're right. You should be able to face your fears, but I'm not sure that everyone, or even you, are ready to see the real Voldemort."

"Oh." Harry thought about that for a minute. "I suppose that might be true, and I did think of Voldemort at first."

Remus tilted his head with his brows furrowed. "At first?"

"Yeah, at first. But then I remembered the train, and the dementors, and how they made me feel. What I remembered …" Harry trailed off, and I finally got a glimpse of what happened to him during the train ride and cringed. Hearing that scream, I could certainly understand why those things terrified him so much.

Remus was nodding along with what Harry was explaining. "That is very profound, Harry, because that means you are not afraid of what could be coming for you. Being afraid of the dementors means that what you fear is fear itself."

We were all quiet as we let those words permeate our thoughts. While thinking about it, I looked around the room we were in. The Three Broomsticks was what one would call a rustic pub. The interior was completely made of a deep brown wood that gave off a warm atmosphere, although, that may have been the roaring fireplace at the far back. From the bar, to the tables, to the floor around the slate tiles. The stairs in the center and the balcony above, even the handrail, from what I could make out, everything seemed to be made of oak.

A booming laugh from across the pub caught my attention. I turned in that direction only to find Hagrid sitting at a larger table with a gentleman I had never seen before. Although, I suppose that's not really an ideal statement; there are a lot of people I've never seen or met before.

The guy had to be old, maybe late nineties, early hundreds, considering how long wizards live. He had grey hair, which was a crazy mop on his head. I chuckled quietly because if I had let my hair grow as long on top as his was, it's totally possible my hair would have looked like that. He would be about six foot tall with blue eyes as they swung around the pub, almost like he was assessing everyone around him.

This guy seemed to have the muggle clothing almost down pat; he certainly managed it better than most, but he still had a wizarding flair. His suit was brown with a white shirt and brown bowtie. He was also wearing a gold vest, brown boots, and over the back of his chair lay a blue overcoat with a scarf that had seen better days, in the colors of Hufflepuff.

 _What are you looking at, Teddy?_ Isa had noticed my preoccupation.

"Who's that sitting with Hagrid? They're talking about Aragog."

 _Oh._ Isa stretched up to look over Luna's shoulder, catching the attention of Luna, Hermione, Harry, and Neville, who were sitting opposite us and causing them to spin around. _I have no …_

"Oh, Grandpa!" Luna gasped, getting up and pulling some weird looking 3D glasses from her satchel. They looked like a couple of hands joined together at the bottom of the palms with the fingers spread out wide. They were pink with circles drawn all over, and there was one pink lense and one blue. They certainly were interesting.

"Tut, tut," Luna tutted before making her way over to the table where Hagrid was sitting. She started swatting at something all around the head of the gentleman sitting with Hagrid.

"What is she doing?" Neville asked. "She's a bit different, isn't she?"

"That's what makes her special," Isa and Hermione stated.

We tuned back into the conversation across the pub. "Grandpa, you have wrackspurts all over you!"

The gentleman reached up to grab her hands before pulling her down into a hug. "Luna, girl, you know they don't hurt anyone. Leave them alone. Now, how are you, sweetheart? How's school? Have you made any friends?"

"I've been good, and I've made some great friends. Did you want to meet them? They're just over there." Luna pointed to us, causing Hagrid and her grandfather to turn in our direction.

"Bring 'em over 'ere, Luna. I can't fit at that table," Hagrid spoke up. "You'll love 'em, Newt. They're some of the best students at Hogwarts."

"Bring them over, Luna dear. I'd love to meet your friends."

Luna waved to all of us, and then waved again when Remus stayed sitting, indicating that she wanted to introduce him too. When we got there, Luna pulled Isa and Hermione up on either side. "Grandpa, these are my two very best friends: Isabella, or Bella, and Hermione. We also have Bella's mate, Edward." Luna pointed to each of us as she went along. "There's also Neville, Harry, Fred, George, and this is our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. Everyone, this is my grandpa, Newt Scamander."

Isa squealed, quite loudly, gaining the attention of just about every person in the pub and scaring those with us. "Oh, my God! You're the author of our _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ textbook! I have so many questions."

I managed to grab a hold of Isa's shoulders before she could launch herself at Mr. Scamander. "Hang on, baby girl. Let's sit down and get to know each other before you accost him."

Isa giggled, along with Hermione and Luna, as I led her around the table to take a seat on the opposite side of Newt and next to Hagrid. The others laughed as they took their seats around the table.

"It's good to find someone who loves my work." Newt looked at Isa, reaching over to shake her hand, then shaking mine, but instead of letting go, he kept hold of it. He had a surprisingly strong grip, considering his age. "Hmm, vampire. American by the sound of the accent. What year are you in?"

I smirked. Newt Scamander was smart; there were no if's or but's about it. "I'm in third year, along with most of those here."

"You must have been born and changed before the change in rules in '65. Otherwise, you would have done your schooling at Ilvermorny. Correct?"

"That you are," I laughed. "I was born in 1901 and changed in 1918. I've been living with my family of six other vampires until about thirteen years ago. That was when the rest of our family was introduced to the wizarding world." The last sentence had come out with a bitter undertone to it. It was only something I was just starting to realize myself, after my epiphany earlier.

Newt gave me an understanding look before turning to Isa and changing the subject. "And you, little miss; how did you end up at Hogwarts and not at Beauxbatons?"

"I've never displayed any of the 'natural talent' that other Veela had shown …" Isa started to explain.

"Add in the fact that she's also been dreaming about Edward since her fifth birthday, means that she wouldn't show any of those 'natural talents'!" Fred and George laughed.

Isa frowned. "There is that, yes, but I wanted a magical education; there was no way I was going to end up like my mother."

A silence fell over the table. Those who knew were quiet because of what she had gone through, Hagrid included. Newt and Luna, who knew what Veela could be like, were quiet because they knew this understandably upset her. I put my arm around Isa's shoulders and pulled her into a sideways hug and kissed the top of her head.

"So, mates then?" Newt broke the silence.

He not only broke the silence but the tension as well. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting at that table in the Three Broomsticks sharing stories, listening to others, and letting Isa interrogate Newt. They both loved it.

The highlight of the day, though, had to have been hearing about how Hagrid had ended up with Aragog. Newt felt terrible that the spider he'd given Hagrid had been part of the reason he was expelled but was so damn happy the spider had lived, and even prospered, after he escaped.

It was late afternoon by the time we climbed into one of the last carriages left at Hogsmeade. We weren't even going to have time to change clothes before we sat down at the tables for the Halloween feast.

"That was such a wonderful afternoon." Isa sighed as she sat in her seat in the carriage. "You are so lucky, Luna, to have such a wonderful grandfather. And such a wealth of knowledge too."

Luna laughed at the dreamy look on Isa's face. "Grandpa is great. He's helped me so much over the years. I wouldn't know half as much about obscure species if it wasn't for him."

"How is it that you guys know of them, but they aren't in any of the textbooks? Let alone the fact that most people haven't heard of them?" Neville asked.

Luna shrugged. "I think that most people, even in the wizarding world, are jaded by the magic around them. They've stopped discovering, stopped listening, and most importantly stopped learning about the world around them."

"I hope I never end up like that," Harry murmured. "This world is so fascinating. Sure there are dangers"—most of us snorted at that—"but there is so much. The muggles have their own magic, but the true magic is here, and I hope my life is spent forever finding something to be awed about."

For the rest of the ride and our walk up to the castle, we were quiet, thinking about everything that had happened today. The biggest thought running through everyone's minds were that they never wanted to take anything they'd learned, or experienced, for granted.

I had a feeling we'd be supporting each other with that for the rest of our lives.

~*~UHS~*~

As usual, the Halloween feast was spectacular. The Great Hall was decorated in its haunting decorations of years past, with some updates to make the whole thing seem new.

Pumpkin juice, pumpkin pasties, toffee, cake, and candy covered the tables, along with all manner of other Halloween treats. I couldn't believe the amount of themed food the house elves were able to come up with year after year after year without the originals becoming boring.

What I loved about the Halloween feast was that the tables could intermingle with each other. It wasn't just the Gryffindors at one table and, say, the Ravenclaws at another. Age groups, or class groups, were also able to join in. Usually, we sat with those in our classes but on days like today, we were able to join together with everyone we knew. We were able to sit with who we wanted, when we wanted. And because of that, our group was one of the loudest in the Great Hall. Luna had joined us, Ginny too, and several of the girls and boys we'd gotten to know during our years here at Hogwarts.

It was awesome. There was laughter, questions, and storytelling. Plans for the future were talked about, plus many dreams and ambitions.

But things took a turn for the worse as we made our way up the staircase.

There was a lineup outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. We were being held up on the stairs below. There were gasps and whispers, but thoughts were all jumbled.

"What's going on, Edward?" Harry was the first to notice that we'd stopped. Isa and Hermione were too busy laughing and talking about what had happened at Hogsmeade today.

"I'm not sure. Give me a minute."

Something had happened to the Fat Lady—that much I could garner—but what was all jumbled up.

"Out of my way; I'm Head Boy! Move; I'm Head Boy!" Percy called out, forcing his way to the front of the line, amidst groans from all of those around us, none louder than his brothers behind us. Though Fred and George's were more comical than anything else.

But it was seeing what Percy was seeing that caused me to suck in a gasp. I couldn't believe it.

"What is it, Teddy? What do you see?"

"The Fat Lady, she's gone. Her portrait has been slashed, but I can't tell from what."

Percy cut across the increasing noise. "Get Professor Dumbledore; we need him, now!"

"Edward, can you smell anything?" I spun around to look at Neville when he voiced his question. "You know I've done research on your type; I know your sense of smell is better than anyone else's here. What can you smell?"

I shook my head but focused on my sense of smell. The problem was it was all being covered up by everyone else. There was too much. It was the same as when there were too many voices arguing for first place in my mind.

"I need to be closer to the painting. There's too much between here and there."

I felt a hand land on my shoulder and looked up to find that Professor Dumbledore stood behind me. "Then come closer, Edward. I could use any insight you have. Isabella, Hermione, please go to my office and either stop your mother from going home, or contact all of your family to come to here. I'm going to need their help."

"Yes, sir." Isa and Hermione ran off as soon as the words were out of their mouths, Isa giving me a small glance before she left.

I nodded and followed behind Professor Dumbledore and Filch, who wasn't entirely happy that I was there. He was used to being the one relied on for everything that was needed outside the classrooms.

Harry and Neville followed along behind silently, wanting to get a closer look, and because everyone knew they were my friends, they let them past.

"Mr. Longbottom is right, Edward. Your sense of smell is much better developed than anyone's here. Please, if you can?" Dumbledore asked as we came to a stop in front of the Fat Lady's painting.

I stepped up to the painting that usually held the Fat Lady, but all that was left was the Roman background upon which she was painted. The Parthenon in the background, the rose bush and ivy covered column in the foreground, but it was three large and two small slashes across the canvas that had caught everyone's attention. The largest of slashes was so deep that the wood backing behind it had a gouge in it.

I reached out, carefully lifting one of the worst slashed pieces, allowing the movement to release some of the scent left behind, before I leaned forward and sniffed again.

Fred and George's thoughts wiggled through the concentration I was using. _Why is he sniffing the painting?_

"My olfactory senses are far more sensitive than a human's. That means I can pick up so much more in scents left behind on objects than you could, even if someone has just touched it." I turned to face Professor Dumbledore. "Someone, not from the school, did the damage to the painting. It's not someone I have met or encountered." I let that sink in, giving Dumbledore a pointed look. "It could be anyone."

Professor Dumbledore nodded before moving forward and caressing the painting, much like I had. "Filch, gather the ghosts. I want every painting in this castle searched until we can find the Lady. Students, I want you all to gather your sleeping things and make your way to the Great Hall."

"Excuse me, professorhead?" a voice called out above the voices that had broken out after Dumbledore's demand. "But you don't need to search for the Fat Lady!"

Everyone standing on the grand staircase turned to the voice high above us, only to find Peeves floating there.

"Peeves? What do you mean we don't have to search?"

The mischievous ghost giggled, sounding rather crazy. "I've never seen someone run so fast. But the Fat Lady is here, hiding behind the hippo!"

 _That sounded like an insult,_ Harry thought. I snorted but nodded to his thoughts.

The minute the words were out of Peeves' mouth, there was a crush of people running up the stairs. That included Professor Dumbledore.

Once we were level with the painting that Peeves had indicated, Professor Dumbledore stepped forward. We could now see the top of the Fat Lady's head peeking out from behind the hippo.

"My, dear lady, what happened?"

"His eyes were dark, cold, dead. There was nothing to them. Eyes like the devil. When I didn't let him in, he attacked me!"

"Who, Lady? Who attacked you?"

The lady stood, holding the parts of her dress together, to show that it wasn't just her painting that had been slashed, but her dress as well. "Rabastan Lestrange, headmaster."

~*~UHS~*~

By the time we reached the Great Hall, Isa and Hermione were standing there, waiting for us with the rest of our family. Professor Dumbledore had been quiet in both thought and spoken word since we'd left the paintings behind. He'd had his occlumency firmly in place the whole time. But he breathed a sigh of relief when my family came into view.

"Thank you, Isabella and Hermione. And thank you, Cullens, for coming at such short notice."

Esme stepped forward, reaching out to hold onto Dumbledore's hands. "It's not a problem, professor. Bella couldn't tell us much; so please, what is going on?"

Professor Dumbledore began leading our family into the Great Hall while explaining all that had happened. When he got to the part of the entire school sleeping there, I handed Isa and Hermione their sleeping clothes and an outfit for tomorrow, Ginny had been kind enough to get me something for the girls.

"Oh, no, that's not good at all." Esme gasped. She spun around. "Alice, have you been able to see anything?"

Alice shook her head. "I haven't. I've studied Lestrange's picture in the Prophet for hours but haven't been able to come up with a thing. Whatever he used to escape the Dementors might be blocking me as well. For all we know, he might be something we've never encountered before."

"He's definitely human," I interrupted. "Sorry, Alice." She waved me off. "His scent has a distinctly earthy scent to it."

"Like an animal?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded. "Something like that. Although, I don't know how that's going to help us now."

"It'll help in the search, Edward, because nobody here really has that scent, at least nobody in the school," Jasper praised, slapping my back.

"Oh, good. You know why I asked you here." Dumbledore sighed.

Jasper, ever the strategist, had figured it out first. "Of course, Albus. We'll stand guard at the entrance for now, making sure none of the students aren't who they say they are, and then we'll spend the night searching and patrolling the grounds." He looked over at me. _Someone should fill in James and Sirius. I think Crookshanks may be of service._

I nodded before kissing Isa on the head. It was when I turned to leave that she reached out to grab my hand. I looked back at her only to find one very determined young lady looking back at me.

"I want to help."

Our family and friends smiled sympathetically at me before making their way either to the doors or to the place where the Gryffindors were sitting together. I bobbed down in front of my girl and picked up her hands, placing a small kiss on each one.

"Edward, I want to help." She wanted me to know she was serious.

"I know, sweetheart. I can see it all over your beautiful face."

"So I can?"

"Not out there. I need you in here, keeping an eye on things. You know I'll hear your mind above and beyond anyone else's. With as many teachers and students that are going to be crammed into the Great Hall tonight, things are bound to be said, and I need you to keep an ear out for anything that might be important."

Isa furrowed her brows, looking down at our joint hands. "About what?"

"Anything and everything. From Lestrange to going ons around the castle. Someone may have heard or seen or done something that might be vital to catching him again. I'll be focusing my talents outside this room, so I need someone with senses as good as mine to pay attention inside. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"I can do that." Isa kissed my cheek. "Be careful, all of you."

"We will." As I stood, I pulled my notebook and a pen from my pocket and handed it over. "If it's not important enough to call out to me, make a note in here and you can tell me about it later. Love you; stay safe." I kissed the top of her head in return before turning and walking away.

"Love you, too, Teddy."

I walked out into the foyer to see that Crookshanks was sitting at the base of the stairs; he was waiting for me. I made my way up the few stairs to where he was sitting. During that time, I cycled through the thoughts and wavelengths until I was able to find Crookshanks.

 _Edward_ , he thought to me when I made eye contact.

"Crookshanks." I reached out to tickle him behind the ear the way he liked. "Can you do me a favor?"

He purred, stretching up to follow my hand when I went to pull it away. _Yup. What you need?_

"Can you go out and find James and Sirius and let them know Lestrange has made it to Hogwarts, and that he tried to get into Gryffindor Tower tonight."

 _Big black … Large brown?_ I saw a picture of James and Sirius's animagus forms in Crookshanks mind. _Bad man … Hogwarts?_

I chuckled. "Yeah, them. Let them know that the bad man made it to Hogwarts; they'll know who you mean."

Crookshanks stood and weaved around my still outstretched hand then trundled out toward the front door with an _okay_ trailing along behind him.

I stood, letting out another small chuckle before joining the others by the giant doors.

"I think it's wise if these doors are closed and locked. There's already been a long enough period that Lestrange could have escaped," Carlisle suggested, looking at the doors.

I listened to the thoughts of our professors. "Professor Dumbledore agrees and is on his way to do just that."

Jasper was pacing back and forth using his brilliant strategic mind to figure out our next step. "I want us in teams of two. We need to search this place from top to bottom. Edward, do you still have that map?"

I almost face-palmed. "I do." I pulled it and my wand out from my pocket and opened it up. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

For the next several moments, while Dumbledore closed the massive front doors, we scoured the map. All the children, the teachers, and our family were listed on the map. James and Sirius were out on the grounds, and then there was Peter Pettigrew in Gryffindor Tower.

"I can't see Lestrange anywhere, but I have to go check out Gryffindor Tower, now."

When I pointed out the name, Jasper agreed with me. "You do that, Edward, while the rest of us split up into pairs and start checking floors. Esme, Carlisle, follow Edward up and start at the top floor. Emmett and Rosalie, take the dungeons, while Alice and I will start with the Owlery before checking in with our outside force. Once you've finished with a floor, start on the next one."

"Got it." Emmett nodded before grabbing Rosalie's hand and moving off toward the stairs.

"Okay, Jasper," Esme murmured before gesturing me forward.

"What shall I do when I'm done?"

"Check in with all of us, then check in with Isa. I know you gave her a task; make sure things are okay."

I nodded before leaving with Carlisle and Esme. We didn't say much on our way up the moving staircase. What was there to say? This guy was dangerous, and we had to do our best to make sure the castle was a safe place for students to learn their craft.

If Hogwarts shut down, where would we go?

Once we reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower, I turned to Esme and Carlisle. "Good luck, and stay safe."

Esme reached out and cupped my face. "You be safe, too. Make sure my girls are safe."

"I will." I watched as they sped off up the last few staircases, and I turned to Sir Cadogan, the painting of a knight, who had been tasked with guarding our tower while the Fat Lady was indisposed. "Excuse me, sir, but could you please let me enter the tower?"

"Who, sir, are you?"

"My name is Edward Masen, and I am a student of Gryffindor. There is possibly a traitor locked in the tower, and I need to investigate." I even threw in a little bow for extra measure. Sir Cadogan was a little known knight at the Round Table when he was alive.

"I'm sorry, Sir Masen, but until the proper password protocol can be initiated I must check a list of students before I can allow you entrance. When were you born?"

I released a harsh breath through my nose; this was going to take _forever._ "1901."

I watched in sheer awe as Sir Cadogan started to pull a list from his pocket. It wasn't that it was a list, it was the fact that the list kept going.

"Right, so then you'd have started in 1912 … wait we're almost a hundred years from that time. What year are you in?"

"I'm in my third year. I'm a vampire." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, okay. Edward Masen, Edward Masen," he muttered, still searching through the list of names in front of him, but this time starting from considerably higher up.

"Look, Sir Cadogan, I need to get into this tower; it's at the request of …"

"You're American. Why are you here at Hogwarts? Shouldn't you be at that American school?" he interrupted without looking up from the list he was still trying to scroll through, even as the damn thing kept falling out of his pocket.

"Because Ilvermorny never recruited me, plus my mate is here. Let me into the Gryffindor Common Room. I'm here at the request of Professor Dumbledore …"

Once again, he cut across my words. "Well, why didn't you say so? If Professor Dumbledore said so, then it's okay." As soon as he finished talking, he swung open almost without warning.

I snorted, shaking my head and loping through the door, over the knee knocker. I stood in the Common Room, listening. I couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary, so I pulled the map out to check it. Peter Pettigrew was still listed on the map, but unfortunately for me, it didn't give an exact level inside the tower.

I searched that tower from top to bottom, both the girls and the boys side, and the only thing I found were half a dozen pets, which were left caged or roamed free inside Gryffindor Tower, including Scabbers.

Peter Pettigrew was nowhere to be seen.

When I heard Esme and Carlisle coming back down the stairs, I decided that I couldn't waste any more time searching for Peter. Right now, we had someone more urgent to look for. I met them both outside the common room.

"Oh, Edward." Esme sighed when I stepped out from the portrait. "Any luck?"

I shook my head.

"Never mind. Help us search the next floor?"

"Sure, Esme."

I checked in on Isa and Hermione only to find them laughing hysterically. In fact, it seemed that three quarters of the Great Hall were laughing. I didn't know what happened, exactly, but I couldn't wait to find out.

Our family spent the next several hours scouring every nook and cranny of the castle we could find or had access to. I even went back to Gryffindor Tower to see if I could follow Lestrange's scent, but so many people had passed over it that it was way too hard to get a read on it.

I was hunting around the third floor, late into the night, when I heard my name being called.

 _Teddy, I really hope you can hear me; please pay attention to what's going on._

I was a little concerned that Isa was still awake at three o'clock in the morning, but then, I wasn't really surprised because there was a commotion not far from where she was supposed to be sleeping.

"Professor Dumbledore, shouldn't you be utilizing the people around you and have us searching the castle?" Percy had walked up to Dumbledore and basically hissed the question. The inflection was not missed. He wanted to be the one to find Lestrange. He wanted to be the hero and thought it would look good on his resume to the Ministry.

"Mr. Weasley, I don't appreciate your tone. I am utilizing those in my staff who are the best at what they do, and they are the better option than young, soft, mortal students."

Percy looked appropriately abashed, although his thoughts showed that he was disappointed in being left out. He wasn't happy that he felt underutilized. He was the Head Boy and that should give him leeway.

"I think you can stand over there and guard the door to the back room, Mr. Weasley, and keep an eye on the Slytherin students."

I stayed with Professor Dumbledore as he walked down the center of the Great Hall, checking on people as he went. He was just about to walk past Harry when Professor Snape caught his attention.

"Sir, Jasper Whitlock has just informed me that so far, the castle seems to be empty."

"So Rabastan Lestrange has escaped?"

"It would seem so, but, sir, you know my thoughts on that."

Professor Dumbledore looked down on Harry. "I know, Severus, but I know that nobody on _my_ staff would be doing what you are suggesting."

"Should we let Potter know?"

"I believe so, but we should at least wait until morning. For in our dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud," Dumbledore paused, "besides, I'm sure his friends will tell him first. I'm sure they share more than I think they do."

"Hmph. Do you think it's wise, giving these _children_ so much information?"

I snorted as I heard Professor Dumbledore chuckle. "I'd be careful, Severus, because one of those _children_ you disparage is actually over fifty years older than you are. He's done a lot more living than you have. He grew up in a time where manners were revered; I'm not surprised he's snubbed you like he has."

That seemed to bring Snape up short. "What do you mean?"

I was so focused on Professors Dumbledore and Snape that I hadn't realized Jasper had made his way into the Great Hall and was standing behind them.

"It means, Severus, that every single one of us vampires has had more experience, more time, and done more than you have ever dreamed of. We may look younger but we have close to, if not more, than a thousand years' experience between us, when you add our collective ages."

Snape's mouth dropped open, causing Jasper to feel Isa's spike of amusement.

"That's right. Carlisle is over three hundred years old alone. I'm not far from that either, plus I was a Major in the American Civil War. We have lived through far more than your stint in Voldemort's army." Snape froze before looking toward Professor Dumbledore. "Don't look at him; he didn't tell us. As vampires, we have our ways. Just remember; we're the ultimate predators because all that we are is designed to invite you in."

"So Masen is?"

Jasper snorted. "Don't let his baby face fool you." He chuckled because he heard my growl. " _Edward_ is over a hundred years old. And he has more class, more manners than you can ever hope to attain." He dismissed Snape without another look, turning to Professor Dumbledore. "Headmaster, we have searched every inch of the castle and grounds but have come up with nothing. Lestrange seems to be able to hide, but don't worry, we will find him. Just know that it's safe inside the castle."

"Thank you, Jasper. For more than you'll ever know."

 _Interesting turn of events, Teddy. But I think Snape really knows to look out._

"So it would seem," I murmured to myself. "So it would seem."

~*~UHS~*~

"… Oh, my God, it was so funny!" Hermione laughed, almost collapsing on herself. Neville and Isa joining in. "You should have seen it."

The four of us were sitting in the Common Room the next day, catching each other up on what had happened the night before. The only ones missing were Harry, Fred, and George, who were at Quidditch practice. We'd finally gotten around to talking about what had everyone in stitches.

"He can!" Isa giggled, holding onto her stomach. She was right. I had been following along in her thoughts.

"So? Start from the beginning," I begged. "Sometimes, it's nice to be told, not shown."

"Okay, okay," Isa giggled again, trying to calm down. She pulled in a large breath then let it out slowly. "Before bed last night, we had to take turns to go to the bathroom for showers and such." She looked up to see if I was following.

I nodded. I was trying not to see their thoughts as they were telling me the story. I wanted to hear this from their point of view.

Hermione took up the story. "Anyway, those who needed to either go to the toilet or shower were taken out in our houses. While the Slytherins were gone, Fred and George decided to bring out their latest invention."

"Oh no." I slapped my forehead. I'd seen snippets of their thoughts about which ideas they were going to pursue when it came to development. With their limited money, they had to be careful what they were going to design. "What was it?"

"Hang on a minute!" Neville laughed out loud. "It wasn't just that they brought it out while the Slytherins were gone; noooooo, they were going to test it on them." We all laughed at that. "So, as each group was gone, some of the teachers set up sleeping bags in the areas each house had chosen. Once the sleeping bags were done, they'd sort of drift together and not really watch what we were doing."

"That's because we were all well behaved!" Isa laughed.

"Let me guess; it was during this lapse in supervision that Fred and George hid the … Which ones did they choose?"

Isa looked me dead in the eyes. "Muggles would call them 'whoopee cushions.' But they aren't just ordinary cushions."

"Of course, they aren't." I snorted. "What happened?"

This question caused all three of them to burst out laughing again, and every time they tried to explain, they started laughing all over again. I chuckled at their reaction, but I still didn't understand because I couldn't even get a good read on their thoughts.

"You want to know what happened." I heard from behind me. I spun to find Fred, George, and Harry standing there, and I realized it was Fred and George who had spoken.

"Yeah." I nodded.

Fred smirked and walked over to take a seat. "The whole hall was quiet when the Slytherins walked back in. Like seriously, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was quiet with anticipation. It was so quiet it was loud. I really thought the quietness would give away the fact that 'somebody' was up to something."

"Tell me about it." George laughed. "But somehow everyone kept quiet long enough to start climbing into their sleeping bags, including the Slytherins. And once they did, the fun started because not only did the whoopee cushions let out the fart noises that muggles are so fond of, they also released a green, smelly gas. So everybody knew which bags were doing it!"

It was quiet in our group for all of three seconds before we fell all over each other in absolute hysterics.

We were all breathing hard and sprawled out all over the place when the laughter finally stopped. It was George who broke the silence with a sigh. "It's amazing that with a little adjustment and sprucing, we could get Zonko's dung powder to show up as a green cloud when used."

"You guys will be a force to be reckoned with one day. I have no doubt about it. I certainly hope you use your skills for good and not evil."

Fred and George laughed. "That's no way to live!"

~*~UHS~*~

With the change of the month came a change in the weather. In October, it had started to change, but November brought sheeting rain, wild winds, and dark days. November wanted to let us know she was here.

Even with this change, Oliver Wood was keeping up the training schedule. Something that not many of our Gryffindor team were happy about. In fact, so far, they were really lucky that they hadn't come down with something.

Gotta give it to the wizarding immune system.

On that Wednesday afternoon, however, Harry came storming into the library after changing from his wet training robes. I could see Madam Pince about to reprimand him for doing so, but I stood and made my way to him, grabbing his shoulders to stop him in his tracks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Harry, slow up!" I whispered.

"What, oh, sorry." He looked around me at the library. "Sorry, Madam Pince."

"Mmhmm. Don't let it happen again." She spun around and walked back to the check-in desk.

I steered Harry toward our table, noticing that Percy seemed to sprint in the door, out of breath, right behind Harry. I pushed Harry down into a chair and took a seat next to him. "What's going on?"

"Ugh," Harry groaned, putting his hands into his hair and tugging on it. "What isn't going on is the better question. We're training in that!" He pointed to the window we were sitting next to, making all of us turn.

It was raining cats and dogs, thunder and lightning, the works.

"And he's pushing so damn hard because we _were_ playing against Slytherin."

"Were?" Isa whispered.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, were. They swapped with Hufflepuff because of Draco's injuries. I think Daddy dearest had some pull with that one. So now, I have to go up against Hufflepuff's new seeker-slash-captain, and he's really good."

"Who's the captain?" Neville asked

"Felix James," Fred and George said together as they sat down before George continued. "He is damn good. I don't know why they've been using him as a beater the last couple of years."

"They were practicing before us today, and Felix is something else," Fred finished.

"But it's not just that. You saw Percy come in behind me?" We all nodded to his question. "He's taken to following me around … to protect me." Harry snorted at the looks on all of our faces. "I have two of the world's immortal creatures as my friends, and he thinks he can do a better job."

I looked over at Percy, who was standing with his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater. His thoughts made me chuckle though because he was keeping an eye on Harry, but it wasn't just for his protection.

"It's also because he has a bet going with Penelope and their friends about it. He wants to make sure that none of them try to swing it in her favor."

Everyone at our table laughed quietly at this revelation, except Harry. "So, how long will he be trying to protect me?"

My chuckle caught Madam Pince's attention, but she didn't say anything because I stopped. "Until you win the Quidditch Cup, I'm afraid."

"Great; just great."

~*~UHS~*~

I sat staring at my creation with awe. I'd done what I had set out to do, well with some alterations. I couldn't believe it.

I bolted from my stool and out the door to the Room of Requirement, after a very quick check of my surroundings, and then poured on my speed to get to the Gryffindor Common Room.

I was so glad it was a Saturday and most people were either in the common rooms, the library, or braving the weather outside. Which seemed to be getting worse at the days went on.

I skidded to a stop in front of Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be sleeping on the job, and startled him awake when I almost shouted the password for this week.

"Where's the fire, son?" He grumbled as he rolled onto his back.

"No, no fire. But I really need to get through, quickly please?"

"All right, all right. What's the password again?"

"Flibbertigibbets!"

I was so tempted to help him open when he started to swing because he just wasn't doing it fast enough, and I had to get inside; I had to tell Isa and the others. Once he opened enough for me to squeeze through, I leaped the knee knocker, remembering to duck my head, and looked for my girl.

Isa was already looking at the door, as most did when it opened, and smiled when she saw it was me. That was until she caught the look on my face, I must have looked a fright because her smile dropped. She stood and was in front of me before I could blink.

Gently, she pulled my face down to her level and framed my face with her little hands. "Teddy, what is it? What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong, my girl. I've done it. They're finished."

"What is?" She frowned. I gave her a minute; my smart girl would put it together. "No! Really?"

"Yes, really. Do you want to come see?" Isa nodded so fast I thought her head might pop off. "Good round up the others. I'll meet you back up there."

"Okay!" she whispered in excitement, planting a quick kiss on my cheek, then running off to the others.

I quickly made my way back to the Room of Requirement, almost giddy at the fact that it had worked. Granted, I wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for Isa and my friends. They really had helped me see a way out of the box I had backed myself into. I couldn't wait to share this with them.

Not five minutes later, Isa walked in with all of our friends, including Luna and Ginny. Luna had come into the library one afternoon and found us pouring through several copies of Transfiguration Today and books on charms. She'd asked what we were doing, and when we'd explained to her what we were up to, she'd jumped in with both feet. We couldn't have asked for a better friend, and as such, Isa and Hermione had taken it upon themselves to explain everything to her. We'd brought another into our carefully chosen group, and I couldn't be happier.

Luna was an excellent spy. People dismissed her as weird, which meant they ignored her most of the time. That also meant they spoke about all sorts of things when she was near. For instance, Luna was ill not long after Rabastan Lestrange tried to gain access to Gryffindor Tower, apparently our gossiping nursemaid, Madam Pomfrey, had a thing for the runaway death eater.

It was something that might come in very handy later on.

I heard a giggle then fingers were snapping in front of my face. "Teddy, Teddy!" Isa sang. I blinked back into focus. Isa giggled again. "There you are! Ready to share with the class?"

I smiled. "Yep. First, though, I want to thank you guys for everything you've done to help me get here. I'm not sure I would be at this point if it wasn't for you." Every single one of them smiled back at me. I stepped to the side, waving my hand like a game show host over a tray on the table behind me. "I have finally finished what we were referring to as my Month Long Mini Mint, but as you can see, it's not a mint; it's a small square of Chocolate Fudge."

The cheers and clapping that rang out from every single person inside that room was so heartwarming that it made me laugh out loud. Once it all stopped, the questions started.

George and Harry were first, asking questions at the same time. "Is that fudge the mandrake leaf?" and "How did you turn the mandrake leaf into the fudge?"

"Good questions." I almost giggled. I was just so happy with my results. "It is the mandrake leaf. When I first started working on it, I thought the best thing to do was to use a potion to get what we needed, but thanks to some well-placed words"—I tickled Isa's side, causing her to giggle—"I started looking at other options to make what we needed. First, I tried to transfigure the leaf into a sweet, any candy really. Soon I realized, though, that while it worked perfectly, the sweets were just that after I was done. No trace of the Mandrake leaf was left. That wouldn't do. After a lot of thought and trial runs, I used a combination of charms and jinxes to come to this result. A Mandrake leaf looking and acting like fudge but it's still just a leaf. "

"Well done, Teddy." Isa kissed my cheek. "I knew you'd figure it out."

Fred was next. "Okay, we knew how the Mini Mint was going to work, and it was easy to eat and drink around. How are we going to do it with fudge?"

"Thanks to some very clever work with spells and combining charms, I was able to give this fudge certain characteristics. The biggest and most important one is that it will stick to the roof of your mouth, but not as a square. The little square will flatten out across the expanse of your mouth, making it not only easy to eat and drink, but to talk without it being detected, too. Once you get used to it."

"And it works the same way as the mini mint? It'll last a month?" Neville asked.

I nodded. "It's essentially the same as the mint, only it's a fudge."

With that declaration, smaller conversations broke out amongst everyone. While I had made enough for everyone, not all of them were sure about trying to become an Animagus. Some of our friends wanted to see what it was going to be like before trying themselves. I couldn't tell you how good it felt to create something that we were going to be using ourselves.

Isa came over to inspect them before looking over at me and smirking. "I really want to eat one. They look delicious."

I laughed.

"But there is one question you haven't answered yet."

Her statement caught everyone's attention, and I tilted my head, trying to get a read on her thoughts. She was keeping this one close to her chest because she wouldn't let it float to the forefront.

"What's that?"

"Have you tested it against your venom? Will it hold up for a month in your mouth?"

I opened my mouth to answer, only to snap it shut when I realized that Isa was right. I hadn't tested it. I had hope, though, that it would work.

"Let me help with that, Edward." Hermione stepped forward with some of the equipment from around the Room of Requirement. A bowl, some tweezers, and what looked like a metal eyedropper. Hermione handed the eyedropper to me before she placed the bowl on the table next to the twenty Chocolate Fudge Squares that were on the table. "If you could fill that dropper with your venom, please, Edward. We'll be able to drop it onto the fudge and see what happens."

So while Hermione set down the bowl and arranged a piece of fudge into it, I allowed some venom to gather in my mouth, using the dropper to gather some of it. When I was done, I passed it over to Hermione who paused and looked back at me.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded as everyone gathered around the table because they were all interested.

"Before you start, Hermione," Isa spoke up and turned to me, placing her hands on my face, looking me dead in the eye. "If your venom damages it, Teddy, I won't be using my fudge until we get it working for you."

I gently wrapped my hands around her wrists and felt all the love I had for her fill my eyes. I leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Thank you, baby girl, but I don't want to hold you back. I want you to be able to be all you can be."

Isa sniffled. "You won't be holding me back. This is something I want to do together, and until you can, I won't."

I kissed her on the forehead, closing my eyes. As much as my family had been there for me, I never knew what it was like to have this kind of full support. I couldn't believe she would put this off for me until I could do this with her.

"Thank you," I breathed out quietly, just for her to hear. I looked over to Hermione, who was politely ignoring our conversation, as were the others. "Okay, Hermione, when you're ready."

Isa spun, standing in front of me, and every single person in that room watched intently as Hermione picked up the dropper and held it over the fudge. She looked over to both Isa and I one more time, and on our nod, she dropped all the venom I had collected onto the top of the fudge.

We all held our breath, waiting and hoping that nothing would happen. And for a moment, nothing did. But then with a small puff of smoke, the fudge slowly turned back into the mandrake leaf before melting completely into a puddle of brown and green.

"Damn," I hissed, stalking over to a chair and falling into it with a thump. I leaned forward, putting my hands into my hair. "I really thought I had this."

I felt Isa come over and kneel in front of me, trying to pull my hands from my hair. "Please stop, Edward. Don't give up yet. There's more we can do; there has to be more options."

I looked up, to see that our friends had left. "Don't, Isa. I just want to be left alone. Please?"

She pulled back quickly like I'd slapped her, covering her mouth as a gasp slipped out. Isa stood and dropped my hand that I'd allowed her to pull from my hair. "Okay, Teddy. If that's what you want."

It took me a few minutes after Isa had left to realize I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to share my failures with her, wanted her help to prop me up when something went wrong. I stood and made my way out of the door, only to stop short when Isa was standing on the other side waiting for me.

I fell to my knees in front of her and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head under her chin. "How did you know?"

"Because I'm learning how you work, Edward. I knew you'd think about it for a few, and that you'd come looking for me. It's what I would have done. We lean on each other in hard times."

"Thank you, Isa. And I'm sorry for pushing you away instead of pulling you closer."

Isa leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head. "All is forgiven. Shall we go get some dinner in the Great Hall? Maybe distract you for a little while?"

"That would be great. Let's go."

~*~UHS~*~

Later that evening, I stood looking out the window in my small corner of Gryffindor Tower, contemplating all that had happened. My friends and family had done a wonderful job of distracting me all evening, and as such, had worn themselves out. Even Isa was sound asleep in her bed in the dormitory.

But now in the quiet, I was able to think about all that had gone wrong with the chocolate fudge.

Isa was right. I couldn't just give up after my first major setback. I had managed to make the Mandrake viable as fudge, something that wouldn't be noticeable to the professors. I really should have anticipated that my venom would be a counteragent.

Tomorrow was a new day, and I had some more research to do.

"Mr. Masen, you are a hard person to get a hold of for a private conversation."

I spun at the voice behind me, which had actually startled me, because I had blocked out all thoughts around me.

"Professor McGonagall, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

Professor McGonagall waved me away. "It's fine, Edward. May I call you Edward?" I nodded in response to her question. "I've been looking for you for a better part of the day. I've been wanting to have a quiet conversation with you."

"I apologize for that, Professor. I was working on something all day."

"I know," she nodded. "It's what I wanted to talk to you about. Here." Professor McGonagall leaned over and handed a sheet of paper from a notebook to me. I recognized the writing as Neville's, but what struck me was that it was a list of spells and charms that we had been researching. "Mr. Longbottom really needs to keep a better eye on his things. Leaving something like this around could be quite bad."

My head snapped up. She had pieced together what we were doing.

"I suspect you are having trouble counteracting your venom for whichever form you've got your Mandrake leaf to take?"

"Yes. It basically melted when the venom was introduced."

"You are not the first vampire to try to become an Animagus. In fact, since becoming one, I have done a lot of research into different breeds that have been able to accomplish this very thing. I want you to succeed, if it's something you really want."

"It is."

"Then you will need this. It is a very rare manuscript, of which this is the only copy." Professor McGonagall placed a book down on the table, and pushed it across toward me since we'd taken seats by the fireplace. "Ordinarily, I would want to monitor those attempting it, and then have them register with the Ministry when they become an animagus, but due to what I feel is coming, I don't want to know."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because we are going to need every advantage we have. But that doesn't mean you should remain hidden when all is said and done. Are we clear?"

"Yes, professor."

"Good. Please return that book to me when you're done with it. I'd like to keep it in my collection. Goodnight, Mr. Masen."

"Goodnight, professor." I nodded and watched her go before I picked up the book she had left on the table.

 _Count Dracula's Guide to Becoming a Vampire Bat._

"No way!" _Count Dracula, a wizard, a vampire, and an animagus. Oh, this I had to read._

I quickly sat in my chair and took a deep breath. I was going to learn exactly what had to happen to transfigure into my animagus form. I couldn't wait. I opened the book and started to read Count Dracula's halted written word.

 _When I became vampire, big dream went poof. Unchanging body of vampire would certainly not change into animal. To big surprise of sire, I still was wizard. After I no longer only lusted for blood, I start working on dream._

 _Simple people reports have made note of success of mine. Vampire kings never think when stupid girl wrote about me turning into bat. They were glad new myth was born._

 _Here, I will tell how I did it. Took six and twenty years to succeed …_

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm so, Edward has had some success. But there is more to come, will he succeed in becoming an Animagus with Bella?**

 **I'll see you all in a fortnight.**


	8. Chapter Seven - Change is in the Air

**Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a good fortnight. We've been sweltering in down under this past week. I'll be so glad when Summer is over.**

 **Thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally, I'd be lost without you two. You make my stories fun and readable. I can't thank you enough. All mistakes are mine, because I fiddle after the fact.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See me at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven – Change is in the Air**

By the time Isa got up early the next morning, I had read and re-read Count Dracula's book several times. It was a wealth of information and covered many ideas I hadn't even thought about. I was reading it for the umpteenth time when Isa managed to crawl up onto my lap.

 _Whatcha got there, Teddy?_

"A book," I answered sarcastically. The look Isa gave me made me chuckle. Apparently, she didn't appreciate my sarcasm first thing in the morning. That was good to know. "Professor McGonagall came to visit me last night. It seemed that Neville had lost his notes on the spells we were researching, and she figured out what we were up to."

 _Oh, no! She wasn't mad, was she?_

"Quite the opposite, actually. She doesn't want to know when it happens, just that we _should_ register after everything is finished."

Isa looked up at me, frowning. _She wants us to keep it a secret?_

I nodded. "I think she's disillusioned with the Ministry, and she thinks we're going to need as many advantages as we can get. But here, look at this."

I handed the book over and watched her face as she read the opening paragraphs. Her eyebrows shot up, and then she became more focused on what she was reading.

"Beating the leaf? Werewolf blood? Drying time? And that's all before you transfigure it into Chocolate Fudge?"

"Yes, but look," I pointed farther down the page. "I also need to add some blood to the vial so the venom doesn't destroy the potion."

"And you have to change the chant slightly, too. See. While I need to say: _Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus,_ your spell has a change. You have to say: _Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus, Animagus Vitea._ There's quite a lot to do." Isa looked up at me. "Is this something you still want to do?"

"Absolutely, my girl. We will do it together. I promise."

Isa smiled. "Then I guess you've got someone to talk to and some work to get done."

"Mmhmm." I kissed her forehead. "I do, and so do you."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you've thought about how pulling our wands out of our wand pocket could get cumbersome if we were actually in a battle for our lives; well, have a look at this."

Once again, I pointed at a section inside Count Dracula's book and let her read it out loud.

" _Wizard, vampire, anyone trying to become animagus beware! I didn't heed warning about storing wand safely. I flew and flew around excited to fly without broom or at all. As vampire broom didn't carry me anymore. Heartbeat and wings were special treat. I forgot wand on forest floor. I couldn't turn back without it first time. To make transformation wandless takes lots of practice. Took two days of search. And eating bugs to keep fit. Sadly, I no vampire bat. Ugly bugs had to come out after I turn back._

" _So, friends, do something to keep wand. Tie it around neck or from arm. Do not trust animal mind to think of hiding it, batbrain certainly didn't_."

I gave her a minute to think about it. I knew she'd make the connection.

"So we need something to store our wands on our bodies. It really doesn't matter whether it be for a duel or when we morph." Isa smiled up at me. "I guess there's something for me to create." She frowned. "I do have a question, though."

"What's that?"

"Why is his speech or written word like that?"

"That would be because of his early Romanian background. It's a language barrier."

"Okay. We have some research to do, too. I'm thinking Alice and Jasper can help us find the dew that we need. And we need to find out where we can get a hold of the Death's-Head Hawk Moth." Isa climbed off my lap, kissed my cheek, and then started for the stairs. "Guess we've got stuff to do after homework."

I chuckled. "Guess we do."

~*~UHS~*~

I sat in class later that day, listening to Professor Lupin, but let my mind drift over everything I had read earlier that morning; my mind wandered off in a different direction.

Werewolf blood was an agent in helping a vampire become an animagus. It got me thinking about whether anything of ours would be helpful to other mythical creatures.

It was time to bring out my tester. I had a potion I needed to start fiddling with. Because while Charlie was partway there with the wolfsbane potion, I had a feeling I would be able to bring it full circle.

"Thank you, class. That will be all for today!" Lupin called out, dismissing us.

Isa smiled at me before making her way to dinner with the others. I was going to approach Remus about the ingredient I needed.

Remus waited until all the kids had left the classroom before looking at me. "What's up, Edward?"

"I don't know if you're aware, but Isa and I are trying something rather specific this year."

I could see I had his attention piqued. I hoped that by doing this, he would help more readily with my request.

"I had wondered whether you would, but I hadn't heard anything to that effect. So you're trying to become an animagus? Is that even possible for you?"

I nodded, leaning my elbows on my knees and linking my fingers together while looking up at Remus. "I didn't think it was going to be, originally. Every time I tried to introduce the Mandrake leaf to my venom, it would basically melt into a puddle. I'd almost given up when I had a visit from Professor McGonagall."

Remus frowned. "Professor McGonagall?"

"It seems," I chuckled, "thanks to Neville, that she learned of what Isa and I were planning. Neville had accidentally left a list of spells and charms we were researching to give us a hand, and she found it. She came to me last night with something she thought could help."

I pulled Dracula's diary out and handed it to Remus. I watched with fascination because, at first, he frowned before his eyebrows shot up, just like Isa's had.

"Really?" he laughed. "Is that where this legend came from?"

I laughed at his reaction. "I'm thinking so. He's certainly old enough. But open it up, read and tell me what you think."

It didn't take long for Remus to read through what was written, nor did it take him long to put the reason together why I was there.

"You need werewolf blood." I nodded. "You need _my_ blood?"

"Well, asking you nicely was preferable to going out and capturing, say, Fenrir Greyback and taking his blood before turning him over. Although, I'd leave explaining to Isa up to you."

"Nice," Lupin drawled sarcastically. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Really? Just like that? You aren't going to argue?" Color me surprised.

"Why would I argue? You've helped me so much; this is something small I can do to pay you back."

"You have nothing to pay back." I held up my hand when he started to argue. "At least, that I feel, but I understand that you don't feel the same. However, to answer your original question, I do have the things I need to gather your blood and keep it on ice."

Remus smiled. "Good. Did you want to do it now?"

I shook my head. "Come up to the seventh floor where the tapestry of the trolls are doing ballet tonight, and I'll gather it then. I can't thank you enough for this, Remus."

"No problem, Edward." Remus walked up and clapped his hand on my shoulder. "Have you thought about where to get the Death's-Head moths from?"

"It's part of the research that we're going to start next. Do you know where to get some from?"

"I do. Amtrix Drenior is an old acquaintance of mine. He always bred moths and butterflies. He lives somewhere in Germany. Send a letter via your owl, and he'll be able to help you."

I stood to shake his hand. "Thank you, again, Remus. We'd get nowhere without you; I'm sure of it."

Lupin laughed loudly. "I doubt that. Now you'd better get going before Bella starts to worry."

I laughed. "She'll be fine." I stood. "I'll see you later tonight."

Remus waved as I made my way out the door. Afterward, I raced up to our Common Room to dump my bag before heading to the Great Hall where everyone was gathered, getting ready for dinner.

 _How did it go?_ Isa asked as I plopped down into the seat next to her.

"Really well. He agreed without hesitation and gave me a name of someone who breeds the moths we need."

"Yay!" Isa clapped quietly. "We're really doing this!"

I leaned over to kiss her forehead and was about to say something when Ginny sat down with a huff on the other side of Isa, catching all of our attention.

It was Hermione who asked the question. "What's going on?"

Ginny's hands flew into the air with an exasperated sigh. "It's Ron! He's still not taking class seriously. Because he's older, he thinks the younger kids should cater to him. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts trying to get them to do his homework for him. How will he ever learn if he doesn't try?"

"He'll learn, eventually," I supplied. "It's nothing that we, or anyone else, can teach him. It's a lesson he needs to learn all on his own. Trust me; with as many times as I've been through school, I've seen it happen enough."

"It's just so frustrating," Ginny whined. "I know he can do it. Why doesn't he apply himself? Even after everything we've done to help him!"

Jasper walked past our group at that moment and sat down next to Fred and George. "It's because, for so long, he hasn't had to. Edward's right; he'll learn that lesson soon enough. I know because I'm going to help him. And don't worry; I'll warn the teachers about looking at his work. He needs to know that he can't get away with it."

"Thank you, Professor Whitlock," Fred and George said together.

"No problem." Jasper chuckled before standing and making his way to the teachers' table.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see," Isa murmured to nodding heads. "Let's eat!" she stated as the food appeared on the table in front of us. Nothing more was said about Ron.

~*~UHS~*~

The following Friday started out like any other inside the castle. We all got up, and made our way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, then separated for our first lessons. Isa going to Muggle Studies, Neville and Harry made for Divination, and Hermione walked off to Arithmancy while I went to the library to continue my own studying of the same subject.

It truly was fascinating.

It wasn't until we'd made it to the third floor for Defense Against the Dark Arts that we noticed something was different. Usually Professor Lupin met us at the door with a big smile on his face, saying hello to all who crossed his doorway. But today, Professor Lupin was nowhere to be found.

We entered the class and took our usual seats to find the next interesting thing. In front of the classroom was a large white projector screen, and in the middle of the room, between all the desks, was what I assumed to be a magical projector.

Small conversations broke out across the room because none of us could figure out what was going on. I started searching through all the thoughts around the castle but couldn't find Professor Lupin anywhere. And I couldn't find any thoughts, from anyone, about who was teaching our lesson.

"What do you think is going on?" Isa murmured from next to me.

I shook my head. "I have no idea. I can't find Lupin anywhere, and the others who would know seem to have their minds closed."

As the door slammed closed from the back of the room, all conversations stopped. Every single student around us turned to see who was gracing our lesson with their presence, but the minute _he_ had stepped through the door, I groaned internally.

"Oh, no," Isa groaned quietly from beside me. "I don't see this going well."

Hermione, who was sitting in front of us and had turned around, agreed with her. "This isn't going to go well at all."

Snape stalked through the classroom, pointing his wand at the windows, causing the shutters to close on the outside and block almost all the light coming through them. He stood in front of the screen and glared down at us all until the chattering had stopped.

"Turn to page three-hundred and seventy-four," was all he said before he started to make his way to the projector.

Only to be stopped by Harry. "Excuse me, sir. But where is Professor Lupin?"

"Suffice it to say, your professor finds himself incapable of teaching at the moment." He stared at Harry down his nose. "But that's not really any of your business, is it? Now turn to page three-hundred and seventy-four."

 _Oh, no, he's not!_ Isa suddenly raged in her thoughts. "Vampires, sir? We're not supposed to start on that subject for weeks. We've only just started Red Caps and Hinkypunks."

"Quiet. Vampires. Creatures of the night, completely evil."

Isa was barely holding it together. Although I wasn't sure whether it was because she was mad or trying not to laugh, like the rest of the class.

Snape continued. "Vampires can be killed by humans staking them through the heart, they will burn up in full sunlight, their only source of sustenance is human blood, and they are allergic to garlic."

"Do we turn into bats, too, sir?" I interrupted, causing what little hold the class had on their laughter to disintegrate completely.

"Five points from Gryffindor!"

Isa stood at that, turned, and pointed at Professor Snape. "Are you really going to take points from us for the sheer fact that by asking that question he's pointing out the more than incorrect facts you have on file for vampires?"

"Sit dow—"

"I will not sit down! I don't know who wrote all these stupid, wrong, and completely moronic facts about vampires." I started trying to get Isa to sit because I could practically see the steam coming from Snape's ears. But she slapped my hands away. "No, Edward. If he's going to attempt to teach us, then he should be trying to find out the correct facts! Vampires may have been like this once upon a time, or they've fed the wizarding world the incorrect facts from the get go! But with the wealth of knowledge at their disposal, they refuse to, at least, ask the questions."

"Miss Swan, you will sit back down or …"

"Or what? You'll take points from Gryffindor? You'll give me detention? Refuse to teach me like that fraud Lockhart did? I know; you'll try to sabotage my potions, right?"

This last question caused the whole class to gasp in surprise. Because they knew that for Isa to have brought something like that up meant that something else must have happened.

"That's enough, Miss Swan!" I managed to pull Isa down next to me. "Fifty points from Gryffindor for your complete lack of respect for your professor."

Isa snorted. _I have respect for those of my professors that deserve it._

"Turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four." Snape tapped the projector next to him. He was so flustered from Isa's insinuations that his thoughts opened up. He couldn't believe she had called him out like that in front of the whole class. And he damn sure couldn't figure out how she knew he had been trying to sabotage my potions.

Like I wouldn't tell her everything.

Isa looked at the page we were told to open next. _Werewolves? What does he think he's doing?_

I frowned down at the page. It did seem odd that Professor Snape was going to be teaching this particular class. It wasn't until a particular thought crossed his mind that I snapped my head up to look at him.

"He's trying to get the class to guess about Professor Lupin!" I hissed quietly.

 _How much more trouble does he want to get in?_

I shook my head. "I think it's more about getting back at the Marauders. There's a long history there that we need to find out about."

 _How would outing Remus's condition to all the students get back at him?_

"C'mon, Isa, you should know the answer to that one."

Isa closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. _The prejudice that werewolves face in the magical community is large. They're considered outcasts, through no fault of their own, just because they were bitten by something else. He's hoping to have him cast out from Hogwarts._ Isa looked at me with tears shimmering in her eyes. _We have to help Remus overcome this. There has to be a cure._

I smiled softly at my beautiful, caring girl. "I already have an idea. I just need some time to work on it."

 _Good. Love you, Teddy._

"Back at ya, beautiful."

Snape had missed the whole conversation between Isa and me, so he continued on with the lesson. "Which one of you can tell me the difference between an animagus and a werewolf?"

One hand from every person in our group was in the air before Professor Snape had finished the question, including mine and Isa's, even though we knew there was no way he was going to call on either of us.

"No one? How disappointing," he said, roving his eyes around the class, clearly seeing several hands in the air and not just from our group. As he spoke, the projector flipped through different pictures depicting werewolves. From technical drawings, with parts marked and equations written, to crude cave drawings that showed the stages of change a werewolf goes through.

"Please, sir," Hermione interrupted before Snape could go on. "An animagus is a wizard who elects to turn into an animal; a werewolf has _no_ choice. With each full moon, he transforms, no longer remembering who he is. He'd kill his best friend if he crossed his path."

Before Snape could say something in regard to Hermione's interruption, Neville stepped up to the plate. "Furthermore, a werewolf will only respond to the call of his own kind."

A few kids around the class burst out into howls, cracking each other up.

"And at this point in time, there is no cure for Lycanthropy. There is a potion called Wolfsbane that will let a werewolf keep his own mind during the transformation." Harry smirked. "But since we have a Potions Master in the making right here in our own class, who knows what the future will hold."

"Enough!" Snape snapped. The class stopped speaking and stopped howling. "As an antidote to the ignorance of the rest of the class, I want two rolls of parchment on my desk by Monday morning on the werewolf, with emphasis on how to recognize it."

There were groans from everyone; well, all except Isa, Hermione, and me.

"But, sir," Harry spoke up, "it's Quidditch tomorrow."

Snape leaned down and got right into Harry's personal space. "Then you better be extra careful tomorrow, Potter, because loss of limb will not excuse you." He stood glaring at the students. "Page three-hundred and ninety-four."

Professor Snape then stalked back to the projector and started reciting facts. "The term werewolf is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon word were, meaning man, and wolf. Man-wolf, were-wolf."

For the rest of the class, Snape recited what was written in our book word for word while he expected us to take notes. Those of us who were able to anticipate Snape's movements were able to get a head start on the two rolls of parchment he expected on his desk.

Apart from Snape's droning voice, not a lot more was said during the lesson, but he wasn't happy with how it had gone.

We were all quiet as we made our way from DADA to the Great Hall for lunch break. That was until Pavarti Patil approached our group with a few of her friends. "Bella, what did you mean about the facts being wrong, when it comes to vampires?"

"They are wrong. Every single thing in our textbooks is wrong. Have any of you seen any of these traits in Edward?" Every person in our DADA class shook their heads. "Exactly! And not one thing has been done to counteract that since Edward, and the others in our family like Professors Cullen and Whitlock, came to Hogwarts. Just …" she sighed. "Wait for me in the Great Hall; I'll be right back."

Isa took off up the staircases, heading for Gryffindor Tower. I waved everyone else forward.

"C'mon. Isa will be back in a minute."

Our class of Gryffindors followed me into the Great Hall, all with questions swirling around in their minds. Most were stunned by Isa's rant about what little the books covered about vampires but also what Isa had said regarding sabotaging potions. They knew there was bad blood, so to speak, between Snape and me, but now they were wondering if there was more to it.

Every single person sat around me and my friends while they waited for Isa to get back. "Ask your questions. I can see them written all over your faces."

"What did Bella mean about sabotaging potions?" Dean asked, taking his seat a little farther down the table.

"Ugh," I groaned, gripping fistfuls of my hair. "That was nothing. It was something that happened in the past; she shouldn't have brought it up."

"Is that something he's done, though?" Padma followed up. "Because if so, has he done it to anyone else?"

"No. That I can promise you. If, and that's a big _if_ , he has done that, it has only been toward me."

"But why?" All different versions of the question flew from everyone. All except for those in the know. Neville, Harry, and Hermione were quiet, and it hadn't gone unnoticed by the rest of our class.

They were about to start demanding answers when Isa stepped back into the hall. She'd heard the questions and knew she had to say something to quell them. Isa made her way to the seat that had been left open next to me and took a deep breath before sitting down.

"I want to say I'm sorry for worrying you about Professor Snape sabotaging potions. As far as we're aware, he's only done it once, and that was during our first year. I shouldn't have brought it up after all this time. I guess I'm not over it." Isa pulled a pile of parchment from her school bag and placed it in front of her. "Last year, during our DADA lessons with Professor Dumbledore, he asked us to write an essay on a mythical creature. Edward did some on Veela and werewolves while I practically rewrote everything we know on vampires.

"Professor Dumbledore is working on getting what I've worked on into the curriculum. For now, I'm going to give you all a copy of my work so you can learn all there is to know about vampires." Isa waved her wand and duplicated her work enough times for everyone in Gryffindor in our class group.

"Now, it's not that I don't trust all of you"—everyone laughed at her wording—"but not only has Professor Dumbledore seen this, and knows it's mine, but there's a copyright and protection spell on all of it. Like all of our textbooks. That was Professor Dumbledore's idea." Isa waved her wand again, giving a copy to everyone. "Read them over, learn what you can, and then bring them back to me."

"There are a lot of pages here, Bella!" Pavarti laughed. "It might take a while."

"That's fine; take your time. I want you guys to know everything there is to know, not just about Edward and his family, but the other types of vampires out there. I spoke to everyone in our family and got as much detail as possible."

I chuckled at Isa's enthusiasm. She really was enjoying helping her classmates. I could see her as a professor herself someday.

"If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Thanks, Bella!" the class said as they stood from the table, some of them already reading and making their way to their own friend groups.

"You do know that it won't be just the Gryffindors who will end up reading your work, right, Isa?"

"I know," she sang. "The more people who read it, the better. At least, I'm guaranteed that nobody can steal it."

~*~UHS~*~

The next morning, I came back from showering before the first big Quidditch match of the year to find Isa standing and looking out the window with a very pensive look on her face. She was so distracted that she hadn't heard my approach and just about jumped out of her skin when I pulled her back to my chest in a hug.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"I just have a very bad feeling about today. I'm not sure why the staff insist that playing in this weather is a good idea." Isa waved her hand at the window, indicating to the storm that was currently blanketing everything as far as I could see.

I frowned down at the top of her head. "Did you dream something and I missed it?" She shook her head. "Then how do you know?"

Isa rubbed the top of her stomach. "I feel it, in here. And the worst part, I don't know that we're going to see it when it does happen."

I noticed that her feeling had gone from being a "maybe" to a "when." I tried to think of something to comfort her. "Sports are played in weather like this all over the world, both inside and out, and nothing ever happens to those athletes. I'm sure the uneasiness you're feeling is because of the storm and being outside in it. Maybe we could stay inside if you don't want to watch out there?"

"We need to be there. That much I do know."

"All right. Then how are we going to stay dry?" I chuckled, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

It worked a little with Isa letting out a giggle. "Oh, you're going to love this!" With a wave of her wand, Isa used a spell we had learned on our own due to the fact that we were reading ahead. "Accio gift." We only had to wait a few seconds for two garments to come flying down the stairs. "Alice sent these to me yesterday."

I took the one she handed me only to realize too late that it was a poncho. I cracked up laughing because the damn thing was hilarious to look at; not only was it plastic, but she'd managed to decorate it in the Gryffindor colors.

"Alice said"—Isa giggled—"that just because we had to be covered up didn't mean we couldn't support our team. In fact, she made enough for all of our friends, and if I'm not mistaken, all of our family as well. Even if they're supposed to be impartial."

I pulled mine on over my clothes and spread my arms out wide. "Well, baby girl, how do I look?"

By the time Harry, Fred, and George came down to head to the pitch, I had Isa in stitches from my ridiculous posing, so much so, that she could barely breathe.

"What, in Merlin's name, are you wearing?" Fred asked, aghast.

"What? You don't think I look sexy?" All three boys screwed up their faces and shook their heads so hard that I thought they were going to break their necks as I posed with my hands clasped behind my back with my chest puffed out. But it also caused more giggles from my girl. "No? What if I do this?" I struck a strong man pose, another shake of their heads, then a twirl. "Or this?" More head shaking. "Oh, well. Sorry, sweet girl; I just don't think you can make a poncho look good."

Isa giggled again. "No, but at least our clothes will be dry. Oh, that reminds me!" Isa pulled her wand back out of her pocket as the rest of the team piled into the Common Room. "Everyone who is wearing them, place your goggles on that table over there, please?"

Isa had managed to ask with just the right amount of innocence and demand that not even Oliver and Katie, our most senior players, dared to argue with her and placed all of their flying goggles on the table she had indicated.

"I want to make the day's game as easy on you guys as possible, and thanks to a spell shown to me earlier, I'm able to do just that." Isa waved her wand over the goggles while saying the incantation "Impervius!" The spell shot out of her wand, covering every pair. "There you go; the water won't be able to stick to them and fog them up. Good luck, everyone!"

"Thanks, Bella!" they all chanted before walking out, with Fred, George, and Harry kissing her cheeks before they followed.

"Feel better?"

"A little, but that feeling's still there. I don't know how else to explain it."

I pulled her to me and changed the subject. "Shall we go to the Owlery and feed Athan and Saffy before the others get up." I pulled out my pocket watch. "We still have some time."

"I'd like that."

I pulled the poncho off and shrugged on my jacket before putting the poncho back on over the top while Isa did the same. Isa had her mind open as we made our way out into the storm and down to the Owlery. Her mind was going a mile a minute, most of her thoughts surrounding her feelings in regard to the match. She was worried, and I couldn't say that I blamed her, being out in the storm, in the rain and the wind was so much worse than watching it from the window of Gryffindor Tower.

Once we were inside the Owlery, we shrugged off the ponchos and hung them by the door. For as much as they covered, we were still pretty wet.

Athan and Saffy flew down to the pedestal in the center, hooting softly in greeting. That was until I tuned into their thoughts.

 _Mama worried._ I heard from Saffy. As the little owl continued to grow and mature, she was able to pick up more and more of Isa's emotions. Theirs was a bond that was very special.

Athan's thoughts came through loud and clear, like they always did when he was around me. _Oooh, breakfast._ His head with his large yellow eyes tilted sideways at me after looking at Isa. _What's wrong? Bella uneasy._

"Everything's okay, Athan. She's just that—uneasy." It was while I was talking to Athan that I realized there were far less "voices" in the Owlery than there were owls. "Huh."

Isa looked up at me from the hug Saffy was giving her. "What's huh?"

"There aren't as many voices out here."

"Well, of course not. We're the only ones here." Isa frowned.

"No, no. The birds. I thought there'd be many more voices out here, but it seems the only owls that have a voice are the pets." I walked over to an owl that belonged to Hogwarts, studying it intently and cycling through all the ways Cortesia had taught me to look for thoughts. "There's none there; absolutely none."

"How can that be possible? They're birds, animals; they should have thoughts."

"Unless they're not. I've had something like this happen before."

"What do you mean, Teddy? How can they not be birds? And when have you had this happen before?"

"There's something off about the animals they use at Hogwarts," I said excitedly as I started to pace around the Owlery, with Isa watching intently. "Not the ones we use in Care of Magical Creatures, but the ones like the rats from last year that we turned into water goblets." I spun to face Isa to make sure she was following, at her nod, I continued. "Those ones didn't have thoughts either, but I didn't think much of it at the time. What if they aren't real animals? What if they're something else entirely? Something that looks like an animal but will behave how you need it or want it to?"

"That would be some seriously advanced Transfiguration magic. There are only a few people I know who could even attempt that kind of magic."

"And two of those people are right here at this school. Wonder what spell it could be?"

Isa smiled. "We'll work it out. For now, we need to go back out into the storm so we can get to the Common Room. We have a Quidditch Match to prepare for."

By the time Isa and I were back in the Common Room, we were laughing because we were completely drenched. As good as the idea of a poncho was, it didn't keep out much rain. Isa and I stumbled to a halt when laughter rang out, only to find Hermione and Neville were the ones laughing, and it was at our appearance.

"What have you two been doing?" Hermione shrieked when I shook my head like a shaggy dog in her direction.

"We went out this morning to feed Athan and Saffy!" Isa giggled. "These ponchos Alice sent were supposed to keep us dry. I don't think they worked very well."

Hermione gave us a strange look. "Why didn't you use the Impervius spell on your clothes?"

"Oh, by Merlin!" Isa facepalmed herself with quite a loud slap. "I can't believe I didn't think about it."

I chuckled. "You really should have, considering you used it on the team's goggles before. Oh, well, we should get changed and head to breakfast."

"There's no need to change your clothes. Gran used to use a spell to dry my clothes when I came in from the rain. It always made them so soft and almost better than when I put them on in the morning." Neville snorted. "Not that I ever told her that; she would have stopped doing it."

Neville stood and pointed to the piles of books on my desk. "I haven't mastered that spell as yet, but it should be in that folder, the one we were provided with when we went to that seminar last year."

"That's a good idea. Thanks, Neville."

I carefully walked over and picked up the folder he was pointing at. It was essentially a loose-leaf folder with a bunch of spells that are commonly used around the house, and sometimes ones that can be used but are often forgotten. Each leaf held a page that detailed a spell and what it did. There was also the phonetic pronunciation, pictures, and detailed diagrams of the wand movements needed to create the spell.

Each of the spells was provided by either Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, or Sprout. There were even some simple healing ones from Madame Pomfrey. It was made as a replacement for the disappearing words in Gilderoy Lockhart's Household Pests book.

I snorted. Thank goodness for small favors. The charms and spells were things that should have been learned at home, and the class was still held for all year levels. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall made the class into a game most lessons. It was one that we all enjoyed.

I flipped through the pages and came to the spell Neville was talking about. It was called The Hot-Air Charm. The wand movement would be complicated for a younger student but it was something we shouldn't have a problem with.

Without my wand, I copied the movement with my hand. When I felt comfortable, I pulled my wand from my pocket and replicated it while saying the incantation, "Ventus Calidus."

The loose pages all over my desk blew everywhere as I finished uttering the spell, but even I could feel the heat from the blast. "Wow, that's so cool." I huffed before pointing my wand at the legs of my pants. The instant the hot air hit my wet clothes, steam started to rise from them. The heat felt wonderful on my skin, but my pants, after they were dry, were like lying down or freshly washed microfiber sheets that were all warm and soft from the dryer.

"Isa, come here. This is fabulous," I called out to her when I was nearly finished. I turned my wand around and pointed the warm air on her.

"Oh, this is. There are no words, Teddy. This is like being wrapped up in one of your hugs." Isa purred while I dried her clothes. In a matter of a few seconds, we were both as dry as we were when we got dressed this morning. "Thank you, Neville. That was a great idea."

Neville grinned impishly. "No worries. Now let's keep our clothes this dry, and then go get breakfast!"

~*~UHS~*~

Things were loud after breakfast in the foyer outside the Great Hall. Most of the students were trying to figure out how to watch the match without getting too wet. The older students had obviously learned the Impervius charm and were using that; most of the younger ones had actual umbrellas.

I didn't know how long those would last in the storm that was raging outside. The fact that just about every student was trying to brave this weather was a testament to our enjoyment of the game.

Isa had shown Hermione and Neville how to cast the Impervius charm, which meant our clothes wouldn't be soaked through, but that left our heads completely exposed.

"What else can we do?" Neville asked.

"There's this spell I found that I've had some success with," Hermione started. "It's not difficult, and it will give us an umbrella that shouldn't turn inside out with the wind."

"Ooooh, really?" Isa asked excitedly. We chuckled at her reaction. "What? Learning a new spell is awesome!"

I laughed louder. "It is awesome. How do we cast it, Hermione?"

"All you do is hold your wand like this"—she raised her wand up alongside her head, like you would hold an umbrella handle—"and say Parapluvia." Blue light slowly came out of the end of Hermione's wand before creeping up and out into the shape of a rather large umbrella.

"Oh, that is so cool," Isa breathed. "Let me try! Parapluvia!" The blue light also crept out of Isa's wand until it resembled a large, blue-tinted, see-through umbrella. "I think we're ready to go!"

Neville and I followed suit with our wands, and then we all made our way out into the storm and down to the Quidditch pitch. Between the large, magical umbrellas, the spell on our clothes, and even the ponchos from Alice, we were the driest people in the Quidditch stands.

I would never tire of using magic!

But the best part was when we were standing in the stands and looking up; we could see right through the umbrella above our heads. We didn't have to move it out of our way, and get rain in our faces, to be able to see what was going on.

The stadium was as noisy as it ever was on game day, maybe more so, because we had to fight to be heard over the claps of thunder. And when the teams came out, the noise tripled. It was a pretty even split for this game because both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were both well-liked and well-matched teams.

This game was going to come down to the two best Seekers at Hogwarts: Harry Potter and Felix James. It would be a race to catch the snitch, and whoever got there first would win for their team.

The match was intense. There were no other words for it. Both teams were evenly matched and fought well for control of the quaffle. A lot of the time, their efforts were thwarted because of the howling winds and the flashes of lightning.

But the most intense part of the match was watching the seekers. With the sky as dark as it was, the snitch was that much harder to see. Harry and Felix kept on the move, sometimes next to each other, sometimes at opposite ends of the pitch. They were moving so fast. According to the thoughts, coming from every which way around me, with everything going on, the seekers were just a blur to them. Isa, our family, and I were the only ones who seemed to be able to see everything with some modicum of clarity.

That was until that odd feeling of cold started creeping up my back, the one I had only experienced once before on the train coming to Hogwarts. Then came the pain, the screaming in my head—which I had to grab, trying to make it all stop, pulling painfully on my hair—and it fought to bring me to my knees.

But as quick as the pain and cold had come on, it was gone. I hadn't heard Isa cast Expecto Patronum, but that was exactly what I found when I was able to stand and look up from the prone position I had landed in. Isa's Patronus wasn't her full corporeal version but the shield one, strong enough to hold back the dementors—that were now prowling around the Quidditch pitch—from our place in the stands.

"Oh! Merlin's beard! Harry!" Hermione screamed from behind us. I looked at her, only to see her pointing up where we'd last seen Harry flying after the snitch. I spun to see that Harry had come off his broom, but the aura of the floating, happiness-sucking Dementors held him up. They sucked up as much happiness as they could from everyone in the stadium but, mostly, from Harry himself.

We were all shocked by a loud booming "Expecto Patronum!" from the other side of the pitch before a large, beautiful Patronus in the form of a phoenix flew out of the teachers' box and made a large circle, essentially flying around the outside of the pitch. The phoenix scared off the Dementors on the outside of the oval first before he changed his flight path and removed the ones in the center. Another change in trajectory made me see what would happen when the last Dementors were forced away.

Harry would fall, and fall hard.

"Isa, cover me!" I yelled before jumping over the rail and down to the pitch. Isa's Patronus went from her shield to her beautiful snow leopard, and it followed me, protecting me from the Dementors.

As I ran across the pitch—using every single bit of my strength and speed as a vampire—I heard Dumbledore call out again. His voice was just as loud as before when he said, "Arresto Momentum." The spell he used was because Harry had begun to fall, and it would slow him down, hopefully enough. I knew that even catching him was going to leave bruises, possibly break bones, but I couldn't let him land on the ground. That would do so much more damage.

The spell from Dumbledore had slowed Harry to a stop thirty or so feet above the ground, and even with the phoenix in full flight around the pitch, the Dementors were hanging around. The only way I could see to get Harry away from there safely was to jump, catch him, and bolt as fast as I could away from there. I cringed as I felt the snap of bones when I grabbed Harry—who was unconscious—into my arms. I knew he'd have a few broken ones, and that wouldn't even be the part he hated the most. Because when I pulled him into my arms, I noticed that his broom—his beloved Nimbus 2000—got caught in a draft and was blown away from the pitch. I didn't see where it landed, but I knew wherever it was, it wasn't going to be good.

When I landed, I heard a groan from Harry and looked down to see that while he wasn't coming around, he was in large amounts of pain. Instead of waiting for any of the Gryffindor players, Isa, or even Professor Dumbledore, I bolted for the castle. Harry needed to see Madame Pomfrey, and he was going need to see her soon. I just hoped she'd see him, even though it was me who was bringing him in.

~*~UHS~*~

Madame Pomfrey was shocked when I burst in through the doors of the hospital wing. I'd made good time from the pitch—I think even breaking my own speed record—to get to the hospital.

"Quick, quick, place him over here," she directed, grabbing several vials of things from the other side of the room. "What happened?"

"The Dementors attacked the Quidditch match, targeting Harry specifically it seemed. He was high on his broom and fell when Professor Dumbledore made them disappear. Professor Dumbledore slowed his fall, and I snatched him out of the air before more Dementors could get to him. Plus, I didn't want him landing on the hard ground."

"Good thinking," Madame Pomfrey murmured. "Can you tell me what you think is wrong?"

I could see she was making an effort. She knew I had extra senses and better hearing than she had. "He's got several broken bones from me catching him, multiple bruises, and he was severely affected by a lot of Dementors, each taking what they wanted from him. They seem to target him a lot."

"Thank you, Edward. I want to apologize for my behavior, but now is not the time."

"That's okay. I accept, and I know Isa will as well. If you don't mind, I'd like to wait? I'm sure the rest of the team will be up here as soon as they can."

"That's fine. Just hop out of the way."

I nodded and stood off to the side, watching as she administered her magical cures to Harry, who was still unconscious. Although, from his thoughts, I wasn't sure that would be for long. It didn't take long for people to make their way back into the castle, the match now over thanks to Felix catching the snitch in all the distraction. And with them in the castle it meant that the Gryffindor team, Isa, Hermione, Neville, Sirius, and Shane were coming up to the hospital wing. In fact, it was Fred and George who were leading the way.

"Epic catch, Edward!" They both crowed when they walked through the doors, only to be hushed by Madame Pomfrey. "Sorry, ma'am. But really, Edward, epic!"

I chuckled quietly. "Thank you." It was then that I noticed Isa's Patronus had followed them all up there and was prowling around the hospital, keeping an eye on everyone and everything. I pulled Isa into my arms, trying to comfort her. "I think it's okay to stop using her now, baby girl."

"I'll keep her out for now, if you don't mind. That was kinda scary down there."

I watched as Hermione and the team circled Harry's bed after Shane and Sirius had checked on him.

"It was scary. But you reacted admirably, my girl. You didn't panic, you reacted, and you did it so beautifully."

Isa smiled but just snuggled farther into my embrace, seeking the comfort she needed to re-center after seeing me in pain. I was happy to offer it.

Shane and Sirius made their way over to me, with Shane holding out his hand to shake first. "It seems I must thank you again for saving my boy, Edward. I'm so glad he has you here for him."

"Don't worry about it. He's family, you all are, and I'd do the same for any of you."

"Still, thank you." Sirius reached over and slapped my back encouragingly before making his way over to comfort a barely-in-control Hermione.

We were quiet for a while before the doors opened, yet again, this time admitting Remus Lupin with a massive lump of chocolate. "Why all the gloomy faces?" Remus laughed quietly. "It's time for chocolate all around!"

"Oh my!" Madame Pomfrey tittered. "I'll need to get something to break that up." She hurried out of the room, levitating the pile that Remus had brought with him.

We were about to settle into quiet conversation when Isa's snow leopard shot up from the corner where it had been lounging, only to take a protective stance. Had we been able to hear her, she would have been growling low in the back of her throat. So it was with some surprise that we saw Carlisle and Esme walk through the door. He was mad but cool and collected while Esme was apologetic. It made me realize that I couldn't hear the thoughts going on around me.

"Isa, I can't hear anything."

"I know. Something feels wrong. It's just over the two of us." I nodded into her hair before she stood up straight next to me.

"What's up, Carlisle?" Shane asked from next to me. It was like he could feel the tension that had creeped into the room.

Carlisle didn't even ask to talk alone, he just launched into what he wanted to say. "What do you think you were doing, Edward? Running like that across the pitch? Leaping that high to grab Harry?"

My anger exploded into my brain so fast that I had trouble controlling it. I managed to keep my mouth closed, but my fists clenched as I stood ramrod straight, glaring at Carlisle. He didn't seem to notice; he just kept going, berating me in front of everyone in that hospital wing. Which now included Harry because he had woken with the noise.

"We're supposed to blend in, not stand out, and we are definitely not supposed …" That was as far as he got in his age-old speech about hiding our otherness because Madame Pomfrey came back in through the doors and shoved a large piece of chocolate into his mouth.

"Excuse me. You may be a doctor, but right now, you are disturbing my patient. You, sir, need to leave." With a flick of her wand, Carlisle was removed from the hospital and the door was closed behind him.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I tried to stop him. He still thinks we need to hide some things."

I held my hand up to stop Esme's babbling. "Don't make excuses for him, Esme. We're in a completely different world now." I stopped because I was just so mad.

Madame Pomfrey kept handing out chocolate while an uncomfortable silence fell. But it was a surprise who managed to break it.

"Why?" I looked up to see that it was Oliver who had asked the question. "Why must Edward hide parts of who he is? Why must any of you?" His questions were directed at Esme, but he was also looking to me.

I took several deep breaths to make sure my anger was under control before I smirked, just a little. "During our time in the muggle world, we had to hide what we were when we intermingled with them. Emmett was the one who struggled the most and, occasionally, was unable to help himself. But whenever one of us may have moved too fast or jumped a little higher than we should have, we were all subjected to a speech. It was a speech designed to knock into our heads that while we were "other," we shouldn't show it or draw attention to ourselves.

"It seems Carlisle still expects us to do that, even though we're free to do what we want, when we want, without hiding what we are."

Katie frowned. "But you've never hidden what you are here at school. I remember in the beginning of your first year, kids were always asking you and Professor Whitlock to show them what you were capable off. I even heard of your flying lesson. It was all fascinating to see up close. I don't understand why he wants you to hide who you are."

"You're in a world of mythical, magical creatures. You shouldn't have to hide," Alicia stated. "I could see this as a knee jerk reaction if it was your first year in the world, but surely being your third, it doesn't matter. Wouldn't he be using his vampire skills at St. Mungo's?" This question was directed at Esme, and we all looked at her for an answer.

Isa was quietly munching on her chocolate. She'd asked that question once before, and I couldn't answer it then either.

"I … I don't know." Esme looked at me. "I'm sorry, Edward. I'll talk to him."

I nodded but didn't say anything. All the feelings I'd had when I'd had my epiphany came rushing back. My anger, my dismay, my elation, and of course, the feeling that I'd been held back. I may not have wanted to attend Hogwarts without my Isa, but it would have been nicer not to have had to hide for quite so long either.

Esme left quietly without another word, leaving a heavy silence behind her. I felt bad because she was going to be in the middle of what was coming. Carlisle and I were going to have to talk; I just hoped it wouldn't be here at school.

 _Things will be okay, Teddy. One day. But there is a big talk coming in your future._

I pulled Isa into my arms, nuzzling her head. "I know. Let's hope it can wait until Christmas."

Isa relaxed into my arms, eventually falling asleep once her Patronus had dissipated. It seemed that holding a fully corporeal Patronus, for any great length of time, used as much energy for her as when she used to use her Occlumency. There was also a jarring shock when her shield dropped and I was able to hear all the thoughts around me again.

"Never a dull moment with you lot," Harry murmured quietly, causing several snickers around the room. "What happened?"

Hermione sniffled. "Harry, it was just so scary!" It took the next several minutes with many interruptions and corrections from everyone in the hospital to tell Harry all about what happened with the match. Although, it didn't seem that he was paying much attention; his thoughts were also wavering.

"That's all well and good, but I meant with the match. Who won? And where's my broom?"

The room froze. I was interested in hearing the answers. While I knew Felix had won the game, I had no idea what had happened to his broom.

It was Hermione who braved the first answer. "Nobody blames you, Harry. Felix is a great seeker and knows how to make the best of a bad situation. He managed to catch the snitch while everything else was going on."

Harry nodded before looking around at some of the guilty faces around him. "My broom?"

Shane flicked his wand with a sigh, causing a package wrapped in some cloth to land at the base of Harry's bed, only for it to fall open and reveal Harry's broom in several small pieces. "Unfortunately, we were unable to save it. By the time we realized it was gone, it had already landed in the Whomping Willow."

"Damn." Harry dropped back onto the bed with a sigh. "Now what will I ride for Quidditch?"

What indeed?

~*~UHS~*~

My plan to hold out until Christmas to talk to Carlisle didn't last very long, thanks to Esme. She had decided that with all the unrest between us it would be a good time to ask Professor Dumbledore if she could host a Thanksgiving dinner in an empty classroom.

It was a sweet gesture, but I wasn't sure I would be able to hold my tongue. Since my revelation on Isa's and my date, I wasn't feeling all that generous toward Carlisle. He'd kept us hidden from a world he knew would accept us, even before Harry, James, Sirius, and Remus came to stay with us.

Geez, if we'd known, we might have been able to help with the first war. We might have been able to protect Lily from Voldemort himself.

But we'd never know because he'd kept us hidden.

To distract myself from the upcoming dinner, I threw myself into finishing my animagus fudge. Thanks to Count Dracula, and Remus, I had all the ingredients. And now I had the time to finish it. I'd been following the instructions with the leaf; all I had to do was create the fudge.

Isa had also been a wonderful distraction. She supported me and let me be. Just by being around, she helped me keep my cool. Isa had been busy sketching something in a drawing book she'd ordered from Paula and Lulu. But for now, she was keeping it a secret, and that helped to add to my distraction. The more I thought about her little secret, the less I pondered my upcoming confrontation with Carlisle. I foolishly hoped he wouldn't bring anything up during Thanksgiving. It was a vain hope but one I was hanging onto none-the-less.

My lessons also helped; studying managed to keep me from thinking too hard about everything.

I'd even gotten in contact with Amtrix Drenior, the breeder of the Death's-Head moths, asking for the chrysalises we needed for the potion. He'd written back and explained that he could send me what I needed after the holidays. And he'd also make sure they were delivered on the Never-Melt Dry Ice, that way we wouldn't have moths bursting forth from their chrysalises.

The only thing we had left to do was to find a place that hadn't been touched by either sunlight or human feet. I planned on consulting Alice over Christmas break. She should be able to find what we were after.

 _Teddy, are you ready? Hermione and I are._

I looked up from tying the Windsor knot of my tie to see Isa in the mirror standing behind me. She was stunning, dressed for dinner in a knee-length maroon and gold dress. Her hair was down in large curls, and she'd managed to place just the smallest amount of makeup on her face, highlighting her features. It made me realize that my little baby girl was growing up. She was no longer the ten-year-old mate I had met; she was now a young lady, and I couldn't be more proud of that fact.

Isa was showing every bit of her Gryffindor pride tonight. From what I could tell, it was a statement. Isa knew we could be ourselves here at school, that we could do what needed to be done. So her statement was that we were at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and we shouldn't be hindered by rules that had been placed on us when we were in a muggle school. It was a reminder that things had changed. I couldn't love her more for it if I tried.

Esme had decided that we needed to be dressed up for Thanksgiving, which made me wonder if she was hoping we'd be on our best behavior because we were in our good clothes.

 _Teddy?_

I shook my head. "Sorry, my sweet girl. Yeah, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

 _I'm sure everything will be okay._

"Hmph. Maybe." I spun around to look at her. "You look beautiful, Isa."

 _Thank you. You're looking pretty good yourself. Let's go before we're late._

"Where's Hermione?"

 _Waiting outside the portrait. We walked past and you didn't notice, so I came back for you._

I kissed her head before holding out my arm to escort her. "Thank you. I was lost in my thoughts."

 _Anything I can help with?_

I shook my head then helped her over the knee knocker. "Nope, let's just see how dinner goes." I held out my arm to Hermione, who was also wearing Gryffindor colors; it seemed to be the theme of the evening. I, myself, was dressed in beautiful robes sent to me by Alice. They were black velvet with seams beaded in red and gold. My tie was woven of pure gold thread, and there was a Gryffindor lion standing proud, detailed with red velvet and ruby beads.

"Well, ladies, let's head down to dinner," I said with a bow.

"Don't worry, Edward. We have your back; Dad isn't going to boss you around anymore. It's time to let your vampire run free everywhere." Hermione looped her arm around mine, and together we made our way down the moving staircases. Isa trailed behind us because she couldn't resist stroking the red velvet lion on my back. She stopped abruptly when we were halted by the wolf whistles thrown at us by Fred and George.

"Looking spiffing, ladies, old chap," they said, as usual, in unison before each of them punched my arms from each side. Their mischievous grins transformed into grimaces while they shook out their hands.

~*~UHS~*~

A hush fell over the unused classroom next to Jasper's when the three of us stepped through the doorway. There had been a hissed conversation that I didn't pay any attention to but wondered whether I should have done.

"Come in, come in!" Esme exclaimed. "Kreacher promises that dinner is just about ready to be served. Don't you girls look lovely?"

Esme was nervous. I could see that in her posture as she kissed Hermione and Isa, and I could hear it in her thoughts. She'd seen the tension in me over the week since the "hospital incident," as she'd called it in her mind. Esme knew there would have to be a discussion; she just hoped it wouldn't happen during dinner.

I looked around while we walked to take our seats. The tables had been pushed, or stacked, to the side while a round table, set for ten, had been placed in the center. It was decorated for an American Thanksgiving, but I wondered who'd done it because it was in the same color scheme the girls had chosen. Red and Gold.

I helped Isa and then Hermione into their seats, on either side of me, before taking my own seat. "Hello, everyone."

Emmett took the reins and smiled one of his happy-go-lucky smiles at me. "Hey, Edward. How's it shaking?"

I smirked at him. "It's shaking. That's for sure."

For a while, conversation was like we had at home. Loud and full of laughs. That was until dinner was brought out and Carlisle's thoughts shifted.

"No, Carlisle, I don't want to talk about it," I growled lowly, causing attention to snap to him.

Esme huffed. "Carlisle, I told you not to bring it up."

"But it needs to be spoken about!"

"Why? Why does it need to be spoken about? We aren't in the muggle world anymore, and everyone around us knows what we are. Why do we need to hide what we can do?" I fumed.

"Edward, sit down. We will be talking about this."

I hadn't even realized that I'd stood. I sat, belligerently, with my arms crossed. "Fine," I growled. "If we're going to talk about hiding from everyone, then I want to talk about how you hid us away from the very world that would have accepted us for who we are. How we could have been part of the wizarding world long before Sirius and James brought Harry to us to hide him. Then we'll talk about how your neglect of us has led to our oppression and subsequent acts of defiance.

"Let's talk about how for the first time since I was actually seventeen, in 1918, I have a future that I can pursue because I'm no longer under your thumb. How any of us can now be participating members of society because we aren't "playing" at being a happy bloody family."

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm, so what do you think now?**

 **See you in a fortnight!**


	9. Chapter Eight - The Holiday Season

**Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. Australia is still going through a heat wave, but looks like we might get a reprieve over the weekend, thank goodness. This is the half way point for this book, but you'll be happy to know that I am managing to plug along for the next one.**

 **My thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally for all their hard work keeping me on point, and making this readable. I'd be lost without them.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight – The Holiday Season**

The classroom we were in was silent, and mouths had dropped all around the table. It seemed I'd been able to stun everyone. Everyone except Isa and Hermione.

Emmett seemed to be the first one to snap out of his stupor. "What do you mean, Edward? Holding us back? Oppression? Acts of defiance?"

"Really? None of you have thought about this?" I snorted out loud. "It hasn't crossed any of your minds that Carlisle knew about the wizarding world _long_ before Sirius and Shane showed up on our doorstep? That we could have been here, been part of a community and working instead of going to high school over and over again?"

Our siblings, even our mother, were all quiet in thought. It was the first time that had ever happened.

"I mean, surely that thought has crossed at least one of your minds, once, since this all started? And if not, since we've become part of the wizarding world?" I paused waiting … "No? That's okay because I hadn't, not really. Not until the other day when Isa and I were on our first date for the school year, and we were talking about what she'd like to do when she finished school.

"But it wasn't until Isa asked me what I wanted to do, that it sort of just hit me. I can do anything I want. I don't have to live a life doing the same thing over and over and over again. I can get a job, support Isa if she wants, and support the family we're going to eventually have. It's something I haven't been able to have in a long time. It's something I could have started years ago."

"That still doesn't explain the acts of defiance, Edward," Rosalie whispered. She was starting to see what I meant. She could see how things could have been different. "And if we had come earlier, who's to say you would have met your Bella."

It was Isa's turn to snort; only hers was in disgust. "My dreams would have led me straight to Teddy. If Daddy had been around, he would have brought me to him anyway. Using that is not a valid excuse."

I kissed the top of Isa's head. "What I mean by acts of defiance is Emmett's way of using his inappropriate comments to embarrass or humiliate someone in the name of entertainment." I could see Emmett cringe as he realized I might be right. "Or how about the way Jasper used to use his talent to manipulate things the way he wanted them—much like Alice used to with her visions—and I'm sorry, Esme, but the only way you were able to show us who you were was by smothering us sometimes because you had no other outlet. All of these little acts made one big whole. You were bored, you were undervalued, and you weren't stimulated or challenged.

"In fact, the only one who never showed her complete and utter boredom for the way things were before was Rose." I glanced over at her to see that her head was down, and she was fidgeting with her fingers. Not something she usually did. "But I could hear it, now that I think about it. You hid it well, sis." I smiled at her when her head shot up at the term of endearment.

I pulled in a deep breath before standing from the table to pace around it. "I've never seen this family happier than the day we moved into and became part of the wizarding world. When you all realized you had a purpose, something to challenge your vast minds, and somewhere the oppressing feelings from having to hide went away. And then … then, Carlisle, you stormed into the hospital wing demanding I put myself back in that little box, that I limit myself to doing things the way humans do. Well, I'm sorry. I won't be doing that, and I don't want to. And best of all, I don't have to.

"We're not defined here by _what_ we hide, nor are we defined by _what_ we are. We are accepted for just being _who_ we are. It doesn't matter if we have super powers, are vampires, or Veela. Would you want to limit what Isa does just because she's different?"

Carlisle shook his head. "No, of course not. But …"

"But what, Carlisle? How could you possibly be about to justify all of that?" I waved my hand around, indicating all that I just said, as I stood behind Isa. "There is no justifying it. But you know the worst thought I've had since this little epiphany of mine?"

"What's that?" Esme whispered.

"How much more we could have helped in the first wizarding war. Could we have saved Lily if we'd been here? I mean, we still could have protected them the same, probably better, than housing them after the war."

 _Ooooooohhhh_ , I heard through just about everyone's thoughts.

"You don't know that, Edward! How could any of us have known that?" Carlisle growled. "That's playing a 'what if?' game."

"You're right. I shouldn't play the 'what if?' game, but it only popped into my head today. I couldn't help it." I nodded, taking my seat again, and crossed my arms. "But what I want to know is why? Why, after nearly three years in the wizarding world, did you decide to berate me for my behavior?" I let out a ferocious growl. "Especially in front of not only Sirius and Shane but many of my friends? What did I do to deserve that?"

It seemed all the wind had gone out of Carlisle's sails because he just sighed and looked at the table. "You didn't do anything, Edward. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything in front of the others. I shouldn't have said anything at all. You're right; we can be ourselves here in the wizarding world."

"Then why, Carlisle? Why say it at all?"

For the first time in a long, long time, I saw our unflappable father out of sorts. He seemed furious as he stood and paced around the classroom. He ran his fingers through his hair and made several other frustrated gestures before he managed to make a sound.

I let him pace around but tuned into his thoughts. They were disjointed as he tried to find the correct words to explain.

… _I was a great doctor …_

… _Wanted my family together …_

… _Chose the muggle world …_

It was that thought that made me pay more attention.

… _Saw things …_

… _Wondered, but had to stick to my guns …_

… _It's where I would thrive, where I could keep us all together, could practice medicine …_

… _Didn't know I could do that here, although …_

… _Suspected that Edward might have been magical …_

My growl caught everyone's attention and caused Carlisle to stop pacing. He looked at me in trepidation. He must have known I'd been listening to his thoughts.

My voice, though, was cool, eerily calm. "What do you mean, you suspected I was magical?"

Esme gasped at my words, placing her hand over her mouth before turning to Carlisle. In fact, everyone had turned to face him.

"How could I not?" Carlisle demanded. "There was always something weird going on around you. The occasional floating object behind you if you were passionate about something. The way you hunt is more animalistic than most vampires I know, and then there were the changes to your eyes when you were mad.

"But I had made a choice to be a doctor in the muggle world. Keeping us away from the wizarding world was the only way I knew how to keep us together."

I had no idea what to say. He'd deliberately kept me away from the area of the world that could have helped me the most. Kept me away from the people who would have accepted me for who I was, not what I was. Kept me away from my mate.

But worst of all, oppressed me to the point that I was just barely making it from one day to the next.

"Oh, Carlisle." Jasper tsked. "You really should have done some homework. Do you know what could have happened to Edward?" Jasper nodded toward Isa, which made me spin around, only to see tears in her eyes.

I pulled her onto my lap, trying to comfort her as best I could in my agitated state but was unable to do so because I was so mad. It wasn't until Rosalie placed her hand on my shoulder that I realized I had zoned out.

"Here, Edward, let me take her." Rose reached out, and I slid Isa into her arms, only for Rose to take her seat next to me so I could still hold her hand. I looked over to Hermione to see if she was all right and found Emmett comforting her.

Esme was beside herself. "What, Jasper? What could have happened to Edward?"

"Before witches and wizards went into hiding, they were hunted, much like vampires were. So much so that many of them had to try to suppress their magical powers to try to avoid persecution. So instead of learning to control or harness their powers, they developed what was, essentially, a parasitic entity called an Obscurial or Obscurus." There were gasps all around the room, except from Isa, who burst into quiet sobs against Rose's shoulder but gripped onto my hand for all she was worth.

"That parasitic entity feeds off of psychological or physical abuse until, one day, it just bursts out of the witch or wizard as a dark force or wind," Jasper continued.

"Nothing would have happened; I didn't abuse Edward!" Carlisle stated.

"No, but I piled a heap of psychological abuse on myself due to being unable to forgive myself and the fact that I was just making it from day to day." I paused. "Is that all, Jasper?"

Jasper shook his head. "Most Obscurials don't make it past their tenth birthday. In fact, there is only one documented case, in New York, in 1926. Credence Barebone managed to make it to twenty-one years of age before he was killed by the Magical Congress of the United States of Americaor MACUSA. We're very lucky Edward is still with us. We should have made the move to the wizarding world when Carlisle suspected Edward was magical."

"Then I would have none of you, bar Esme!"

Once again the room was quiet, both in thought and word. With Carlisle's impassioned plea, I realized he had been keeping quiet about me for a very, very long time. I felt … betrayed; although that word didn't seem to portray exactly what I was feeling. I couldn't even read what the others were thinking around me. The only person who got through was Isa.

 _Teddy, I love you. Please, don't leave me. I know this is bad; I can feel it; please don't leave me._

I reached over and pulled Isa back onto my lap. "I won't leave you, baby girl. I can't. I love you, and I promise I'm not leaving."

"I love you, Carlisle, I really do." Esme stood so she could face her mate. "But we have been living by your world for the last century. It's time to move your patriarchal mindset to the latter part of the twentieth. You're no longer in seventeenth century England where the father's word is the only word that matters. Edward may have been a teenager when you changed him, but he has lived lifetimes since then. You've done him a disservice with your actions, and we're lucky to still have him.

"You're no longer someone pretending to be a muggle, among muggles. You're a non-magical being, a mythical being, among magical ones. But on top of all of that, you're a father. You've kept your children in limbo for nearly a century; it's time to let go of your control and give your kids what they need to thrive in this world—wings. Wings to live their own lives as they see fit."

Esme made her way around the room kissing each of us until she reached me. Esme leaned down and wrapped her arms around me, and subsequently Isa as she was still in my lap. "I'm sorry, Edward. I noticed those little things, but I knew nothing of this world until Shane, Sirius, and Remus showed up on our doorstep. Had I known, we would have been here a lot sooner. Maybe not straight away, but certainly sooner than three years ago." Esme then kissed the rest of us. "I'll be waiting for you at home, Carlisle. We'll be talking about all of this."

Carlisle slumped to the table as Esme spun and walked out of the room. She knew Hogwarts hosted Christmas every year for the children who couldn't go home. She also had an inkling that at least Isa and I wouldn't be home for Christmas. I didn't know what I wanted to do.

Alice and Jasper stood. Jasper wanted to get home so he could support Esme emotionally.

"Alice, before you go …"

"I know what you're after, Edward. I'll get to searching as soon as I get home. There should be something nearby. Just please, be careful." Alice closed her eyes and showed me a vision of me tearing up the Gryffindor Common Room in an angry craze. "Don't let this consume you."

"I'll try my best." I looked down at my girl to see she was almost asleep. "Rose, Emmett, can you please take Hermione and Isa to the Common Room. I think Dad and I need to have a talk."

 _Are you sure, Teddy?_

I kissed Isa's forehead before passing her over to Rose. "I'm sure, baby girl. I'll be up in a while."

Carlisle and I were quiet while the others left the room; I even let him have his thoughts. Once it was empty, I just sat and waited. It would have to be him to reach out.

"I'm so, so sorry, Edward." I nodded at his words but had nothing to say. "I held you back, for my own selfish reasons, and made you miserable. I could have lost you."

"It wasn't just me, Carlisle. I understand wanting to wait for the others because we may not have had them if we came earlier, but why not after? Why not when it really was obvious I was miserable? Not only that; you kept everyone from reaching their potential, kept them from the world."

"I know. God, do I know, and I did it deliberately. I made a decision that affected everyone without talking to any of you … even Esme. I was so wrapped up in having my career and the family I had dreamt about when I was younger that I messed everything up." Carlisle finally looked up at me, his eyes were filled with liquid remorse, and he reached out to place his hand on my arm, which I yanked back from his touch. "Can you … Will you ever be able to forgive me?"

"Maybe." I nodded, staring at my clenched fists. "With time. I can be civil for Esme's sake, and Isa's, but I'm not sure I'll be able to talk to you like this for a while. I love you, Carlisle; you're like my father, but this is a betrayal of the highest order. I could have died and taken all of you with me. I may have left Isa without ever having met her, and that makes me wonder what would have then happened to her."

"It seems I have much to make up for. I'll endeavor to do just that." Carlisle stood, looking down at me. "Come home for Christmas, please. Your mother would miss you."

I growled, stood, and stalked to the door. "You've manipulated me enough. If we come home, I'll see you."

"Goodbye, Edward," Carlisle whispered as I walked from the room.

Instead of heading for the Common Room, I decided to head out of the castle. I had to run, had to move; it was like an itch I had to scratch. Running had always helped me see things through before, although I hadn't had much need for it recently.

I spent the next few hours just running around the grounds, eventually not even paying attention where I was going. I was in a haze going over everything that had happened, that was until something came down with a whomp, just missing my face and landing at my feet. I came to a complete stop and looked down, only to realize I was having a standoff with the Whomping Willow.

The tree that had the worst reputation slowly lifted the branch it had thrown down at me off the ground. I followed the movement, watching to see what the tree would do next, and when I noticed the twitch in her branches before she swung on me again, I growled before launching myself at her.

What happened next was an all-out assault. The Willow swung her massive branches in every direction at me while I dodged and swiped back at her. Eventually, I found myself back on the outside edge of where the Willow was able to reach, watching the branches moving in front of me. I took a few steps forward, still watching but not realizing that she was using a divide and conquer concept. She kept me distracted in the front, while one of her longer reaching branches swung around from the side, finally making contact, and with an oomph, sending me flying sideways over a hundred feet, only to land at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The divot I made in the ground from the force of my landing actually knocked the wind out of me. The Willow had hit me so hard that I could feel cracks in my skin across my chest on the impact zone.

"Edward?"

"Ugh," I groaned, rolling around on the grass.

"Edward? Are yeh, okay?"

I coughed a little because, yeah, that was a painful experience. "Uh … I think so."

"That was a rough ride." Hagrid reached out a hand and pulled me up to help me stand. "What were yeh doing fightin' the Willow?"

"I needed to blow off a little steam. I found out some disturbing things, and I didn't want to take my anger out on Isa."

Hagrid was guiding me over to his cabin, which wasn't far from where I had landed. "And yeh thought the Willow was the best thing for that? Professor Sprout won't be happy 'bout it."

"I'll apologize to her and help her bandage it up." I sighed as I sat in one of Hagrid's oversized chairs. "I started running from the castle and wasn't paying attention. I ended up at the Willow, she issued the challenge, and I just accepted it."

"Why?"

Hagrid was surprisingly easy to talk to. I spent the next while talking to him, explaining what had happened both in the hospital wing and at dinner, plus the subsequent talk with Carlisle. He didn't offer any advice but just offered to listen as an outsider. It was something I needed because I was still talking to him when the sun started to rise. Although, I didn't notice that until Saffy came in through Hagrid's window and landed on my shoulder.

 _Momma sad. You didn't come._

"Oh, shit!" I stood quickly. "Uh, sorry, Hagrid. Thank you for everything, but I have to go."

Hagrid chuckled. "Yeh in trouble with the mate, eh?"

"Something like that." I chuckled. I turned to Saffy. "Fly back to Isa, Saffy. Comfort her; I'll be right behind you."

The little blue bird tilted her head at me and frowned. It was like she was trying to read my mind. _You promise. Momma cry._

I closed my eyes in shame. "I promise, Saffy. I'll be right behind you."

 _You better. Or I sick Athan on you,_ she threatened before flying off.

"Yeh, better go, Edward. Don't be too hard on yer dad. I know what he did was wrong, but he loves yeh all so much. And yeh're 'ere now. Plus, yeh do have yehr Isabella."

"I'll think on it, Hagrid. Thank you for lending me your ear. See ya, later."

Hagrid waved while I raced out the door and back up to the castle, giving the Whomping Willow a wide berth. Only pausing long enough to apologize to Professor Sprout for damaging the tree and offering my assistance in bandaging it up. She laughed at me and told me it was probably better if I stayed away for a while.

I could hear Isa crying by the time I reached the middle of the grand staircase; she wasn't sobbing, but it was a sad, worried sound that was coming from her. I could also hear Hermione comforting my girl, something I should have been doing. I didn't grasp what was worrying her until I made it through the portrait, and she caught sight of me.

Isa jumped from my recliner, barreled over, and leapt into my arms. Once she was there, her thoughts came through loud and clear. _Oh, by Merlin, Teddy! Where have you been? I thought you left! You said you wouldn't leave me …_

I wrapped my arms completely around her, running my hand from the top of her head right down the length of her hair and back. "I'm sorry, Isa." I walked over to my chair, giving Hermione a pat on the shoulder as I walked by her. "After talking to Dad, I went for a run around the grounds trying to work off some steam. I lost track of time and where I was and ended up at the Whomping Willow."

 _What happened?_

I took the next few minutes explaining to Isa and Hermione what happened. To say they were upset was an understatement. But it wasn't at the fact I had gone toe-to-toe with the Willow that had them upset.

Isa stood in front of me with her hands on her hips and an almost perfect mom-glare (Esme's favorite when she thinks we're misbehaving) on her face. "Edward Masen, have you looked at what you've done to those beautiful dress robes Alice sent you?"

I looked down and realized that not only was I covered in mud but there were tears and rips all over me. I think I was showing almost as much skin as there was hidden. I looked up quickly when I heard Isa gasp, but she wasn't looking at me; she was looking around me. I spun and realized she'd been looking in the mirror I had placed in my corner to help me tie my tie. I could do that with my eyes closed, but sometimes, it was nice to watch as I tied it in a mirror like a normal person.

I couldn't figure out what Isa had seen until I heard her huff a growl and run her hand over my back. Right where the ...

"How bad is it?"

"It's almost all gone! You had better fix it, and clean it, because you will wear it again! You wouldn't want to ruin an Alice Cullen original, one of a kind, would you?" Isa glowered. "Besides, I want a date with you wearing that wizard's robes; you looked so handsome."

I preened under her praise but decided to do just as she asked. I pulled my wand from the pocket Alice had sewn into my dress robes before asking the girls to turn around so I could change out of them. Once I had on my robes for class, I placed my new dress robes on my desk and used the spells that we had been taught to both repair and clean them back to almost brand new. If it wasn't for the wrinkles, they would be exactly as they'd been when Alice sent them to me.

"Much better." Isa nodded decisively. "Now, you go wash up; we've got class soon. Not long now until we're home for Christmas break." I flinched at her wording, causing Isa to frown. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure I want to go home for Christmas."

Hermione gasped at my whispered confession. "Oh, Edward."

I sat as Isa walked over to me, framing my face with her hands. "As much as you want to hide away from this, I don't know that running away is the right option. The longer you put it off, the harder it will be to face."

"My heart knows; my head is harder to convince."

"Take your time." Isa kissed my forehead. "If you decide not to go home, then I'll stay here with you. Let me know when you decide." Isa turned and held her hand out for Hermione. "Let's go get our book bags. We'll meet you in the Great Hall, Teddy."

It looked like I had some serious thinking to do.

~*~UHS~*~

"Hey, Edward?" Harry came up to me in the library the following week while the boys and I were doing some studying.

"Yeah, Harry?"

"I was thinking that I wanted to do some research into something. But I think I'm going to need all the help I can get."

I frowned, looking up at him and the book he had in his hands. "What on?"

"These." Harry dropped the book onto the table in front of me, pointing to the picture on the page he had been looking at. "What do you think? You think if we did some research into Dementors, we could find out why they affect us so much?"

"I think that's a good idea. We can start after we finish our homework."

Harry didn't leave straight away; in fact, he stood at the table and fidgeted a little, which caught my attention. I looked up. "What's up, Harry?"

"Uh …" His hands fidgeted some more. "Look, I heard what happened with your dad. Hermione needed someone to talk to—don't be mad at her—but with what happened, I know you aren't sure about going home for Christmas. I … uh … spoke with Shane and Uncle Sirius, and they said that if you wanted to leave the castle but didn't want to go home, we had plenty of room for you, and Isa, to stay with us, if you wanted."

I sat back, flummoxed. Not because Hermione had talked to Harry, I'd almost expected that, but because, for the first time, I had family away from my own to stay with. I had someone I could turn to, who wasn't stuck deep in the middle of what was going on. It was something else that had been denied to me all these years.

I nodded. "I'll talk to Isa and let you know. Thanks, Harry."

"No problem. That's what family is for, right?"

"Right."

I sat for a while, thinking about what Harry said. They thought of us as family, and he was right; I thought of them the same way. I had gone back to my homework, finished it, and had started researching Dementors by the time Isa, Hermione, and Luna finally made their way to the library. Isa kissed my head, taking her seat next to me, but took a hard look at my face. Something there must have tipped her off to my thoughts.

 _What's up, Teddy?_ She frowned but ran her hands through my hair. I explained to her what Harry and I had talked about, her frown loosening the more I spoke. _Oh, Teddy. That must have been really hard, but it's a good thing though, isn't it? To have that now?_ I nodded, kissing her palm when it cupped my cheek. _Is that something you would like to do for Christmas?_

"I think so?" My answer came out sounding like a question, causing Isa to chuckle a little. "But I think I want to talk to Sirius and Shane first, you know? Just to make sure. I trust Harry …"

 _After all this time, it's hard to take what they're offering at face value, through a third party no less. You want to make sure it isn't just Harry offering. I get it._

I relaxed. "Good; that's good. I'll ask when we go to Hogsmeade this weekend. I just need some more time."

 _Completely understandable. Now for a more serious question. Have you had any luck on that potion change for Remus?_

"I have. But since we've been so busy, I haven't made it or tested it yet. And I don't think I will before we have to pack to leave." I indicated the mess of homework and studying in front of me.

 _Well, I know we don't have long over Christmas, but will you be taking your tester home?_

I sat and thought a little about what she was asking. It was a pain going to and from the Room of Requirement now that I wasn't making the Polyjuice Potion as regularly. James was capable of making it himself, and had more time to do so. Was there a way to have my potions center closer to the tower? I mean was there somewhere else I could put …

 _What you need is a mobile potions room. Where could you put all your things that you could pack up in a … Ooooo, what about Daddy's panic room?_ I frowned as I followed Isa's thoughts, looking over to her. _You know, inside your trunk? Daddy had one that had all my family heirlooms in it._

I sat up quickly and kissed Isa hard on the head. "Brilliant girl. That's a fantastic idea."

Isa blushed from my passionate response, looking down at her homework but peeking at me out of the corner of her eye with a small smile on her face. _You're welcome._

I chuckled but got back to the research I was doing but using my ever-expansive brain to plan how I was going to set up my new potions center. I would move everything, except the cauldron Professor Dumbledore provided, from the Room of Requirement to my trunk. I was actually excited about it and couldn't wait until everyone went to bed so that I could do just that.

~*~UHS~*~

Later that night after everyone had gone to bed, I used the magic we had been taught, and the spells that Isa and I had been teaching ourselves, to collect everything from the Room of Requirement. I snorted; that was after I went through the keys for my trunk to find the one for the safe room. It seemed that when I was excited enough, I could forget something as mundane as which key would open the right area.

I smiled when I returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. Isa was curled up in my recliner, with it reclined, all wrapped up in blankets. She had tried so hard to stay awake and help but had fallen asleep once everyone had gone up to bed. We were doing a lot of studying, plus the research into the dementors. On top of all of that was the fight and everything going on between Carlisle and me; it wasn't a surprise she was tired. I was tired, but I couldn't escape from it.

I'd left the top of my trunk open so I could hear the little snuffling snores Isa made when she was that tired. I loved them, mostly because they were cute but also because it meant she was sleeping deeply. I was also grateful that her dreams had been peaceful considering everything that was going on. Although, what I wouldn't have given for some clue as to where either Pettigrew or Lestrange were hiding.

I hid out in my trunk until the first conscious thoughts filtered through from my Gryffindor housemates, barely making it out before Harry made it downstairs. He found me sitting at my desk, going over notes I had made for astrology. It was a fascinating subject because of how they interpreted what they were seeing in the stars.

"Hey, Edward. How're you feeling today?" Harry whispered after seeing Isa still asleep.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I feel good about school, I feel great about Isa, and I feel good about my friends and most of my family. I don't know what to feel about everything else, including Carlisle. I'm just lost."

"I get that. Have you thought about my offer?"

"I have. But I want to talk to Sirius and Shane first. I plan to do that today while we're in Hogsmeade."

"Fair enough." Neville and Hermione had made it down the stairs at this point. "Guess we'll see you down at breakfast."

I nodded, watching them leave, before I turned to Isa. "Thank you for letting me chat with Harry, sweet girl, but it's time to wake up." I stood up but leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Morning."

Isa giggled before she stretched like a contented cat. "Morning, Teddy."

"Are you ready to get out of the castle for the day?"

"Uh huh." Isa nodded along with her short answer.

I snickered. "Then you better get up and get ready, or they're going to leave without us!"

"Okay, Teddy!" Isa giggled again before jumping up and scampering off to her dorm room.

I chuckled at her before turning back to pack up my things and lock them away. As much as I trusted my Gryffindor classmates, I was still wary about leaving my classwork out where others could see it.

Isa and I made it down to the carriages with moments to spare; in fact, everyone else had gone ahead before us. We managed to catch the last one.

"Luna!" Isa squealed, climbing up into the carriage with her. "Why didn't you go on ahead with everyone else?"

Luna laughed before leaning in and giving Isa a hug. "Bella, Edward. I would have but I overslept this morning. It seems I only just beat you guys here. Why are you so late?"

Luna's mind was always an interesting place to be, and I never could help myself when she was around. I'd heard of the word "scatterbrained" to describe someone's thought processes but had never come across it until I'd met Luna. Her thought process was interesting because she could be thinking a hundred things at once, only to really have nothing going on in her mind at all. Today, though, it was a stray thought about finding her sneakers tied up in the archway of a corridor that caught my attention.

It seemed Luna was having a hard time of it with her housemates; they were teasing her and hiding her things. But because of her carefree nature, she never seemed to say anything to them.

"Why do you let them do that?" I blurted out without thinking. Luna knew I could read minds, but this was the first time I'd demonstrated on her. While she was surprised that I'd done it, she let it go.

"Let who do what?"

"Why do you let your housemates get away with hiding all of your things? You should speak up about it."

Luna shrugged before looking out over the edge of the carriage we were riding in. Her mind filled with a picture of a beautiful woman with dirty blonde hair and silvery eyes; she was smiling happily at a younger Luna, who looked to be about nine years old.

"My mother always used to say, 'The things we lose always have a way of coming back to us.' I guess that's why I don't say anything."

"Oh, but, Luna, you aren't losing your things. They're being taken and hidden from you. That's two very separate things." Isa held Luna's hands in between them. "That's wrong. That's stealing and bullying. It would be different if you were losing your things yourself, but you aren't. You can't just stay silent!"

"What am I supposed to do, Bella? They're my housemates; won't telling just make it all the worse?"

"I don't think so." I decided to add my two cents. "What they're doing is bullying. And from what I can tell, the wizarding world doesn't stand for that. Unless you're Voldemort. But nobody will do anything if nothing is ever said. Sticking up for yourself is never a bad thing; plus, it will let them know they can't walk all over you.

"Your housemates may never understand you, Luna, but know that we'll always accept you for who you are. Don't ever let fear of what may happen hold you back."

Luna nodded. "I'll think about what you've said. Thank you, Edward and Bella; you've both given me a lot to think about."

Luna fell quiet after that. Isa went to say something else, but I stopped her. Luna did need to think about it, and I hoped she'd make the decision to tell someone. Especially if that someone was a professor.

Isa and I were also quiet for the rest of the trip. It seemed that Isa had a lot to think about when it came to Luna's situation as well. She'd taken my words to heart. Isa was determined that if Luna didn't say anything, she would. Because how would it stop if nobody said anything. Sometimes, it had to come from someone outside the situation.

Besides, if someone had said _something_ or _anything_ about Tom Riddle, would we be in this situation with Lord Voldemort?

"That's two separate things, my pretty girl," I whispered into her ear as I lifted her down off the carriage in Hogsmeade. "But," I cut her off when she began to argue, "but had someone said something—because I'm sure he tormented kids here at Hogwarts, he was just smarter about it—then it very well could have been prevented. All it takes for war is for good men to do nothing."

"Exactly! So why are we waiting to see if Luna will say anything?"

"Because she needs to make up her mind for herself," I said, watching said girl walk away to find Hermione. "We've given her a lot to think about, and she's doing just that. But I promise; if she decides not to, then we'll go see Professor Dumbledore. I don't want our friend hurt either."

"Okay," Isa mumbled but held onto my hand and led the way.

It was time for us to go on another date, and Isa was leading the way. She'd decided we were going to the little bakery in town this time; only instead of staying, we were going to find somewhere nice to have a picnic. I had something to show her, and I didn't want anyone around to see.

After gathering some delicious-smelling pastries and desserts, we headed to the outskirts of town, hoping to find somewhere comfortable but not too cold, somewhere sheltered from the snow to enjoy our lunch. It took some hunting, but eventually, we found a meadow similar to the one near home, or back in Forks. We'd have to come back when it was closer to summer because I'm sure it would be beautiful.

"This is wonderful." Isa sighed. "Getting away from the stress of everything going on."

"It is wonderful. We'll need to find Sirius and Shane later."

"I know." Isa sighed again and flopped down onto the blanket behind her before she smirked over at me. "I take it lunch wasn't the only reason we're out here. You've been awfully smirky and happy the last few days."

I laughed at her description because she was right. Despite everything going on with Pettigrew, Lestrange, and Carlisle, I'd been able to find something good to hold onto. "You're right; I have been happier." I pulled the extendable bag out of my pocket. Marveling that something like this was actually illegal, but nobody knew we had made it. I reached inside and brought a small black case out and flipped it open. "I've done it, sweet girl. As of the full moon next week, we can start the process to transform into our animagus forms."

Isa was quiet for a few minutes, making me worry, before letting out a squeal that I'm sure only dogs and vampires could hear. She launched herself at me so quickly that I was just fast enough to close the black case and catch her at the same time.

"I knew it! I knew you could do it!" Isa bounced in my lap. "We're really going to do it, aren't we?"

"We are. And soon we'll have all the ingredients. Alice has been looking for the dew we needed since Thanksgiving dinner, and we'll have our chrysalises soon as well."

Isa stood and danced around the picnic blanket for a minute. "When can we put the fudge in our mouths?"

"The full moon rises next Friday, the twelfth, around five-forty. We have to keep it in our mouths until we get to the twelfth of January."

"Then we follow the rest of the instructions and repeat the chant at sunrise and sunset until we get a lightning storm …"

"At which point, we say the chant, drink the potion, and hope for the best." We finished together.

Isa was quiet as she sat back on my lap. "And Alice has seen it happen?"

I nodded, pulling her closer. "It's going to happen. Don't worry, my beautiful girl."

We sat quietly for a little while before packing things up and heading back toward Hogsmeade. Shane and Sirius had a small house on the outskirts of town, opposite from where we had lunch. We walked through town, stopping at Honeydukes for some candy and making tentative plans to have a date at The Charmed Palate sometime in the new year before making our way over to the house Sirius had bought.

I loved the houses in Hogsmeade. All made of stone, but quaint, and full of history. And that was exactly what the house Sirius and Shane lived in looked like. It was two stories with four large windows in front, along with a beautiful wooden door, and a lantern on the front. I was hoping they planned on keeping this house after this year; otherwise, I'd look at purchasing it from them.

Sirius was the one to open the door after I'd knocked. "Bella, Edward. Welcome. Harry said you might drop by. Come in, come in."

We followed Sirius through to the family room where Harry was sitting with Shane before taking the seats he indicated. "What can we do for you today?"

Isa looked up at me and reached for my hand. She was letting me lead this conversation.

"I know you've heard about what has happened between Carlisle and me," I began, waiting until they nodded before I continued. "Harry came to me the other morning and invited Isa and me to spend Christmas with you guys at Grimmauld Place. What I wanted to know was if you were serious?"

James and Sirius shared a loaded look between the two of them but, at the moment, had their minds firmly closed. James leaned back into his chair while Sirius leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"It's no secret that my family is as screwed up as they come." Sirius snorted. "What you don't know, Edward, is that for my last few years at Hogwarts, I crashed at James's house. Or Remus's house, and even a few times at Peter's. Although his parents weren't as welcoming as the others."

"Why did you do that?" Isa asked with her head tilted to the side. She was trying to figure Sirius out.

"By that time, my mother was very into the dark side of our world. She supported Voldemort, and I couldn't stand to be anywhere near their influence, so I left. But what I'm trying to say is that my house is open to you, as long as you need it, because I understand what it's like to fight with family and needing to be away from them."

I nodded but looked down at Isa's small hand clasped in my own so that I could gather my thoughts. "Do you think I'm being … I don't know … a little ridiculous."

"No, Edward." It was James who answered. "It's not something the three of us hadn't thought about at one time or another while we were living with you. In fact, it was a topic of discussion quite a few times while you were all out hunting."

Sirius nodded. "Carlisle wasn't the only one who noticed things around you. We didn't know if you knew, and were keeping quiet, or if you truly didn't know. It's why we never said anything. We're sorry, now more than ever, that we didn't say a word."

"I don't blame you. Like you said, you didn't know. This falls squarely on Carlisle's head because he refused to see what was right in front of him, or find out what it would do to me." I looked up at them both. "But I want to take you up on your offer for the break."

"Not a problem. You do know you'll have to see him Christmas day, right?"

I nodded, looking down at Isa. "I know, and I'll keep things civil. But I'm just not ready to talk about this again. Especially after finding out from Jasper what could have happened. I'm lucky to be here!" I growled, standing up to pace.

I smelled Isa's tears as she watched me, but I couldn't comfort her. I would grip her too hard in my anger.

 _I'll get her, Edward. Do what you need._ Harry thought as he got up from his place next to James and went to Isa. He sat down and pulled her into his side because, even at thirteen, he was taller than the girls.

"Come on, Edward, let's go for a run. James will stay here with Harry and Bella. All right, Bella?"

I looked at Isa to see her nod.

 _Come back to me soon, Teddy. Love you._

"I love you, too." I spun back to Sirius, only to see him already walking away. I followed him to the back door. As soon as he had it open, I bolted. I didn't even wait for him to transform and follow me. I knew he would, but I needed to just run my anger off.

It took a couple hours of running, and even hunting a few animals, but eventually, I exhausted the anger I had. I knew it was something I had to get under control; I couldn't let it become a part of me, otherwise, I'd never get over what had been done. I was here, in the wizarding world, and that should be enough. It would just take time.

"Feel better?" Sirius asked after he'd transformed back and walked with me to the back door.

"I do."

Sirius snickered. "Preparing for something?" he asked, causing me to laugh with him. "Did you get everything out?"

"For now. It crops up every now and again. I can't control it when it does."

"I can understand that. I had the same problem when I left home. As much as you say you can't control it, you'll have to learn to; otherwise, it will take you over. Confront it, and Carlisle, so it can't define who you are."

"I know." I nodded. "It's something I'll work on over the break. I should've written it all down, and that's what I'll do; it'll help me sort it all out."

"Good. James and I will make sure you have time to do just that. We can take Bella and Harry out for a day."

I patted Sirius on the shoulder as I made my way past him. "I'd really appreciate that."

"Not a problem."

I made my way back into the family room where I could hear Isa and Harry doing some research on dementors, although, it wasn't distracting her all that much. Every minute or so, she'd look in the direction of the back door. It was with that in mind I knew Isa would see me the minute I walked in, so I was expecting her reaction.

It was with a squealed "Teddy" that she launched herself at me and hugged me tight.

"Hey, baby girl. Sorry."

"Don't you apologize. You needed to go; I understand that."

"Okay. Then I guess it's time we head back to Hogwarts. Harry, you coming with us?" I asked as I tossed Isa over my shoulder just to hear her squealing giggle.

Harry chuckled along with James and Sirius while he packed up his things. "Yeah. Let's go."

I started to head toward the door, only to have Isa start squealing louder and thump me on the back a few times. "Put me down, Teddy! Put me down!"

"What, why?" I spun around, pretending to try and see her face.

"Because I want to walk!"

"What would you want to do that for?"

~*~UHS~*~

The last couple weeks at school were reasonably quiet. There were no reports on Lestrange, and I didn't see hide nor hair of Peter. I checked the Marauders Map several times, but it seemed, for now, he'd disappeared.

The Saturday after our visit to Hogsmeade, Isa and I told our friends we were going to study by ourselves. After dinner in the Great Hall, we gathered our things from Gryffindor Tower and made our way to the Room of Requirement—there were just too many people inside the tower to use my trunk—to have our study session. What we really were doing was giving ourselves time to learn to talk properly once we'd placed the fudge inside our mouths. More so Isa than me. It took her a few hours of reading occasionally from one of our homework pieces to get the hang of it, but by the time it was lights out, she had it down. Nobody would know what we were up to.

We'd even decided not to let our friends know that we'd started the process. We were going to give them all a fudge for Christmas, along with a list of dates for the full moon for the coming year, and then let them decide for themselves if they were going to attempt their animagus transformations or not.

The only thing that stood out during our time left at Hogwarts before Christmas break was at the dinner before we left. Everyone in our group had been relatively quiet, we were just exhausted after all the time we'd put into studying. In fact, most of the students in the upper levels were all tired and ready for the short break. That was until Hagrid barreled into the Great Hall completely devastated. He just about fell down in front of Isa, Harry, Hermione, and me.

"Oh, Hagrid!" The girls jumped from their seats. "What's wrong?"

"They're going to execute Buckbeak!" he blubbered, waving a letter around in one of his meaty hands before he handed it over to me.

I could hear some of the other students—mostly ones from Slytherin—who were tittering and laughing quietly at Hagrid's display. I also heard as Professor Dumbledore leaned over and asked Esme what was going on. I looked up as she told him, only to see him look sympathetic briefly before schooling his features and giving Hagrid a disapproving look, which Hagrid caught. I understood that teachers were supposed to be held to a higher standard, but Hagrid's animals were his children. He loved them like no other.

I shook my head before looking at the letter. It was hard to read in some places because Hagrid's tears had landed everywhere on the page, but I could see it was from the Disposal for Magical Creatures division explaining that a complaint had been made against the beast known as Buckbeak, a Hippogriff, and at this point in time, it had been decided that he would be executed.

"Wait, Hagrid. We can appeal the decision!" I leaned forward to show him. "Look, we have time to fight for Buckbeak. Don't worry; we'll all help."

"Really?" Hagrid asked, looking around at all of us. "Yeh'll help?"

"Of course," Harry said. "We couldn't let this go without a fight. He means something to you, so he means something to us. That's what friends do, right?"

Hagrid nodded before blowing his nose, loudly, on a handkerchief that was the size of a hand towel. "Right." He stood up. "Of course, we will. An' we won't give up!"

"That's the spirit!" our group cheered. "We'll get it sorted out."

Hagrid left the Great Hall in much better spirits than when he entered. I snorted quietly to myself; they really could have waited until after the holidays to send that letter. Inconsiderate politicians! Seemed they weren't any different in the wizarding world than they were in the muggle one.

The trip home on the Hogwarts Express had been a quiet one. We were all tired from how the first part of this year had gone, none more so than Isa and me. Classes had been harder, with stronger spells, but Isa and I had also been doing our own research into spells and charms above our year level. We wanted to be prepared for anything. On top of all of that, there was the business with Carlisle. We'd told Hermione that we weren't going to be staying at Swan Manor for the Christmas break; although she understood, she was upset about it too. We'd also let Jasper and Esme know of our decision. Esme had been the most upset by it, but she, too, understood it was for the best. She also knew that she'd see us on Christmas Day at the Weasley house like normal.

Shane, Sirius, and Remus had all met us at Platform Nine and Three Quarters along with Emmett and Molly. Emmett had clapped me on the shoulder, gave Isa a hug, and told us he'd see us on Christmas, and that he had something he wanted to discuss with us. We nodded but followed along behind Sirius to the car they had waiting.

The first couple days of Christmas break were quiet. The three of us had homework to get done, as usual. I understood having to learn a lot during the year, but why couldn't we get a break also? School was getting more grueling the higher we went. Although Isa and I could be blamed for that considering we were studying extra, but still.

Today was the day that Sirius, Shane, and Remus were taking Isa and Harry out for a day of Christmas shopping and lunch. Isa had kissed my forehead gently when she left and wished me luck with sorting everything out. As soon as she was gone, I sat down with my journal and laid everything out that had happened since that fateful Quidditch match.

Getting it all down on paper helped me work out my feelings. While I was betrayed by everything Carlisle did, and furious beyond measure at how he put not only me but our family in danger, I could also understand to a degree. He hadn't known he could be a doctor in the wizarding world, that he could have continued his passion. He thought the only way to do that was in the muggle world. I also understood, to some degree, about not having the rest of us if we'd made that move sooner.

What I couldn't understand—after looking back over the long years we'd been together—was how the longer we stayed away from the wizarding world and the worse my control on my magic became, that he still didn't say anything. That was the part I couldn't justify. I could have seriously hurt someone in our family. I could have become some uncontrollable force of magic that could have killed not only everyone in our family, but everyone around us at the time. And worst of all, I could have left Isa more alone in the world than she was before she found me.

That was the part I was struggling with the most.

Well that and the fact that all the times I had thought it was my mind reading giving me the advantage in my daily interactions, or stock trading, or just about anything, I started to notice a pattern. Sure my mind reading had been an advantage, but there was a certain sensation within my body that coalesced with the push I was giving to get my own way.

Was I any better than Voldemort by using my magic to make others do what I wanted?

Granted, I had never hurt anybody. I had never physically made them do anything, but when I wanted something that could be bought, it seemed that my magic always had a hand in convincing them to give me what I wanted. Whether they wanted to sell it to me or not. Even if I didn't know I was doing it, did that make what I did wrong? Or evil?

It certainly had a way of messing with my mind and making me doubt myself and my abilities at controlling my magic. Although, at least since I started at Hogwarts, I haven't had any instances of it, so maybe that was showing my improvement.

It was something I was going to have to talk about with Sirius, James, and Remus. They'd be able to explain it to me in a way I could accept it. I had no doubt about that.

After I had finished writing in my journal, I decided it was time to get Remus's Christmas present started. I was glad the potion wouldn't take long to brew because I had to run it through the tester before I could, in good conscience, give him some from Isa and me. I was hoping this would be the end of it. That the result of this potion would possibly cure part or all of his lycanthropy. And if it didn't cure him, maybe it would make him an animagus instead. Able to control his transformations, able to be himself, and never be the danger to others that he thought he was.

He was probably my best friend, and I wanted to give him everything he'd ever dreamed of, starting with the cure he had so desperately searched for.

It took me the better part of the afternoon to create the potion the way I wanted it, with the ingredient changes that I needed. I was just about to run it through the tester when Isa and the others came home. I didn't realize they'd returned until my beautiful girl looked over the side of my trunk and called out for me. I looked up, and all I could see was her stunning face surrounded by light, causing her to look like the angel she is to me.

"Teddy?" Isa called, tilting her head to the side. "Are you down there?"

"I'm here, gorgeous. Home already?"

"Yup. I've done all my shopping. I got all the things on the list that you wanted me to get for you, too. What are you doing?"

"I'm just about to test that potion we were talking about. Why don't you come down here and see what happens?"

"Oooh goody." Isa clapped before she made her way into my trunk. I waited until she was standing by my side before giving her a hug. "Did you have a good day?"

I nodded. "I was able to sort a lot of things out. But there are still some I don't understand."

"Like what?"

"I'll show you my journal later, if you want. Right now, I want to test this to make sure it'll help Remus."

"Sounds good. Well, pour it in!"

I used a ladle to scoop up some of the potion I'd concocted and walked over to where I placed my deluxe model FIPRA. After ladling some into the top of it, I stood back to wait with Isa. We watched in complete silence as the liquid filtered down through all the levels, being separated, analyzed, and then released back into the bowl that I'd placed at the bottom.

" _Hey there, be careful! Even I can become vampirized. Too much venom, way too much."_ Isa cracked up laughing at the admonishment I was given. " _In this instance, a drop might be better than a drizzle. Try again._ "

I shrugged. "Well, if that's the only thing wrong with my potion, I'm happy. What do you think?"

"I think you better get to brewing another trial; we don't have long until Christmas. I'm going to see what Kreacher and James are making for dinner. I'll come get you when it's ready."

I nodded, already cleaning my cauldron and getting the ingredients ready to make another batch. I would take the advice the FIPRA gave me and adjust the dosage of vampire venom I was adding to the potion. I'd used a whole dropper full in the last batch; this time, I'd use just the drop it was suggesting.

I worked until Isa called me for dinner. After, while the potion continued brewing, we sat down with my journal and talked about what I had written. She could understand where I was coming from because she didn't understand Carlisle's reluctance to come to the wizarding world either—especially once he had all of us—but she knew it was something we had to talk about together, without outside influence.

We sat quietly for a while, just relishing in the quiet. Sure, Sirius and the others were home, but they were leaving us alone. They wanted us to be able to sort through things, and the best way to do that was to give us the space to talk about it. It wasn't until my watch rang out with a reminder to check on the potion.

Isa was all giggles and excitement.

"Why are you so excited about this?" I asked.

"Because this is something you've worked on. Something that could help better wizard-kind. Something that other wizards haven't been able to figure out before. But you want to know the best part?"

I chuckled at her excited chatter as I climbed the ladder down into my trunk. I didn't read her thoughts because I loved to hear things like this directly from her. "No, what?"

"If this works—which I have no doubt that it will—you'll take away the excuses of many werewolves who have used lycanthropy as a reason to do evil, nasty things. It'll come back on the person instead of giving them an excuse."

I froze a few steps away from the ladder. I hadn't thought any further than making this potion for Remus. "What did you say?"

"I said this is going to revolutionize the wizarding community. Werewolves won't have any excuses for their behavior; you could also make them more acceptable to the community at large. There'll be no more stigma on becoming a werewolf. Why are you not moving, Teddy? You'll overcook your potion!" I stayed frozen as Isa extinguished the fire under my cauldron before she turned back to me.

"Edward? What's wrong?"

"I just … I'd never thought of that. I hadn't thought any further than helping Remus get what he's always wanted, to be free of the curse that has affected him his whole life."

Isa reached out and grabbed my hands. "Oh, Teddy. That's beautiful, it really is, but can you hold this discovery back when I'm sure there're others out there who feel the same way? Who are ostracized for something that isn't their fault?"

I shook my head hard. I couldn't, _wouldn't,_ do that because I knew how that felt. If this worked—Remus would have to be my Guinea pig—then I would want to work with someone reputable to create a place to make it and distribute it.

"We have to make sure it's perfect. There can't be anything wrong with it. I hope Remus will be willing to test it," I urged as I started pacing. "I want there to be nothing for people to complain about when it goes out to the wizarding world at large."

"And it will be. I have absolute faith in you, and in your work. You've been meticulous with this potion, Teddy. You've made notes, upon notes, upon notes. You've written and rewritten your formulas until you thought they were correct, and the only thing the tester commented on last time was the amount of venom. You've got this; I know you do." Isa pushed me toward the cauldron. "Now test it so I can pick out some bottles."

I laughed. Every time we went to Diagon Alley, we visited Mr. Wiseacre. And every time, Isa found some exotic and beautiful bottles. It made me wonder whether he was ordering them just for her.

"Okay, okay. Let's do this." I let out a breath while I used the ladle to scoop out some more of my potion. I was so nervous that my hand had the slightest of tremors to it. Once again, Isa and I stood back and waited while my potion meandered its way through the FIPRA.

" _Hmm … This potion is very good. A well thought out and brilliantly put together idea. This potion will work on the werewolf virus. While nothing will cure lycanthropy, this one will give the humanoid subject what they are looking for … control. It's very, very potent with the addition of vampire venom. And even with this addition, it will not be poisonous to the subject. I must emphasize that only one infected by lycanthropy must ingest this potion._ "

I flopped down on the floor, my mouth wide open, while Isa squealed happily. I'd done it. I finished a brand new potion. I'd succeeded where many had failed before. But why?

"What do you mean, why? Teddy, you did it!" Isa flung her arms around my neck, still squealing.

"Why did I succeed when others had failed?"

"Oh! That's easy! You didn't try to remove or cure the lycanthropy; you helped them gain control of it."

I frowned. "You think it's that simple? Nobody thought about it before?"

"No!" Isa laughed. "That's the best bit. You thought of something nobody has ever thought of before. Well done! I'm so proud of you." Isa flung her arms around me again and hugged me for all she was worth. I could almost feel the pride coming from her. If I could cry, I would have. "Oh, I have to pick out some bottles! How many do you think he'll need?"

"I have no idea!" I laughed before I flopped back onto the floor. "I did it. I truly did it. Wow."

~*~UHS~*~

"Morning, Remus. How are you?" I asked as I sat down in front of his desk in the study. Because he was teaching this year, James and Sirius had set aside a space for him to work during the breaks, if needed.

"Morning, Edward. What can I do for you today?"

I relaxed back into the chair because it was seriously comfortable but waited until Remus actually looked up at me. "I need some help with something."

"Anything. You know that. Just tell me."

"I do know that." I pulled a small bottle with the shape of a wolf's head—looking remarkably like the wolves from La Push—and placed it on the table.

"What's this? I still have a couple remaining potions from the last batch. I'm not due for more just yet."

"I've been tweaking, like I promised. I came across some interesting information during some research this year, and it made me think outside the box I was putting myself in."

"A cure?" Remus breathed, picking up the bottle and looking it over.

"Not in the sense that you're thinking." I tapped my temple. "It won't cure you of your lycanthropy. But it may just give you the control you need to become a shapeshifter or animagus."

Remus frowned as he flipped the bottle over in his hands. "What do you mean?"

I leaned forward resting my elbows on my knees and looking directly at Remus. "Instead of only turning at the full moon, I'm hoping this potion will give you the option to change at will. I'm also hoping that when you do change you'll look more like the picture on the bottle than the two-legged description I found in the books at school."

"That description is nasty." Remus laughed but sobered quickly. "Unfortunately, we look exactly like that."

The werewolves we were talking about were the two-legged kind that are often portrayed in movies throughout the muggle world. They are lanky, with long arms and legs. Their heads are canine in appearance, and their bodies have fur. But the book also said that the more the subject takes on characteristics of the wolf, the more their appearance changed to look like that, sometimes while they are still in their human forms. No two werewolves look the same, even in their wolf form. Unlike the La Push wolves, who look exactly like wolves out in the wild. Only much, much larger.

"Well, hopefully, with this, you won't anymore." I paused before continuing. "Of course, I can't be sure. My FIPRA has tested the potion, and it's safe for consumption only by those who suffer from lycanthropy. But I don't know exactly what it will do."

"Ahhh, now I see. You want me to be your test subject." Remus held up his hand when I went to interrupt him. "I know that's not what you mean, Edward. But like I said earlier, I would do anything for you. You and your family trusted me enough when I made those potions for you, and I trust you when you say this is safe for me to consume.

"If this potion will bring me the freedom you think it will, I'll gladly test any potion you bring my way. When do we start?"

I smiled. "At the next full moon, if you're ready."

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm so what do you all think about Carlisle, now?**

 **And it seems as if our couple is ready to bring out their inner animal. I can't wait to see what they become!**

 **See you in a fortnight.**


	10. Chapter Nine - a little family drama

**Welcome to another Friday posting of Under Her Spell! I hope everyone has had a good couple of weeks.**

 **Thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally for all of their hard work. These chapters wouldn't look as good as they do without them.**

 **Let's see if the atmosphere has frozen in the Cullen household yet.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine – What's Life Without A Little Family Drama**

The atmosphere after we arrived at the Weasley house was stifled and cold. You could have cut the tension with a knife, and it wasn't just the tension between Carlisle and me, either. While the Weasley family, once again joined by Edward, were talking and laughing—although uncomfortably—everyone in our family seemed to be ignoring Carlisle. It seemed that I wasn't the only one upset by this whole thing.

"Bella, Edward," Esme sighed when she saw us enter the tent. She got up to greet us. Esme pulled us both into a hug but lingered in my arms a little longer than usual. "It's so good to see you two. How has your break been so far?"

I shrugged while Isa answered. "It's been different but so cool at the same time. Edward has been doing a lot of work while James and Sirius took us shopping. We've had a lot of fun, too."

"I'm glad. Come sit, please?"

"Of course, Esme." We followed her over to the part of the table our family was sitting at and took our seats between Emmett and Hermione, the latter of which leaned over to give Isa a hug.

"Oh, Bella, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too! How're things?"

"Quiet." Hermione nodded. She knew what Isa was asking. Isa wanted to know what was happening around the house. "But I've got my homework done, so that's a good thing. Mum and I are going to make cookies tomorrow."

"Hey, Edward. Can Rose and I talk to you and Bella at some point today?" Emmett had turned to me, pulling my attention from the girls.

I opened my mouth to answer him but wasn't able to answer because I was interrupted.

"Actually, if you don't mind, Emmett, I'd like to talk to Edward."

I huffed, trying to hold back a growl. "Emmett, Isa and I would love to talk with you and Rose today. After all, that's what a family does, talk about things."

Everyone in the tent had gone quiet at my accusation, leading me to believe that just about everyone knew what was going on. Including Ron, who seemed to have a small, smug smile on his face. Trust him to enjoy what was happening.

I stood, staring down at Carlisle. "But, yes, Carlisle, the one thing I wanted to do today, on Christmas, was hash all this out. Shall we take this outside?"

No one stopped us, or attempted to talk to me, as I made my way out of the tent and into the backyard of the Burrow. As we walked out through the flap of the tent, everyone behind us started to talk again. They were trying to get back into the festive feel of the day. I wasn't sure how much success they were going to have.

"What do you want, Carlisle?" I asked with my back to him before I spun around.

"I want to apologize, again, Edward. I understand what I did was wrong. I should have spoken up."

"Yes, you have apologized. But I want to know why. Why did you do it? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why can't sorry be enough?"

"Because it doesn't alleviate the betrayal and hurt I feel due to your actions. You didn't talk to anyone, not even your mate. You kept us all in the dark. You forced us to do what _you_ wanted, without any consideration for us. I want to know why!"

I was pacing, trying to let off some steam. Carlisle was also pacing about fifty meters from where I was.

"Everywhere we went, you were lauded as this great doctor. Living the life, fulfilling dreams, and standing at the top. But while you did all of that, we were left floundering. Esme was able to throw herself into decorating our homes but the rest of us …" I snorted. "The rest of us, well, we just had to tag along and do as you wanted, to please you."

"I always asked you guys where we wanted to go," Carlisle argued.

"Oh, yes. Where was the best place for us? The places with the least amount of sunny days per year. Places that had high schools, and colleges preferably, so we could stay in one place for a long as possible. You got to maintain your control over us, and over the hospital.

"And on top of that, now that I know what to look for, I was scolded for my uncontrollable bouts of magic. Like I knew what was happening. I mean, for crying out loud, do you think I wanted Mike Newton to fall off the roof of the cafeteria. Sure, I may have made a wish about him ending up there, but as far as I knew it, it wasn't the same. Or is it?"

Carlisle sighed, his shoulders bunching up in frustration. "I don't know, Edward."

I stood facing Carlisle with my hands in fists, so tight they were white. "Let me tell you something. It's not the same, but because of my unrestrained magic, who knows? Or did you think if you ignored it, scolded me for it, it would go away? Did you hope that if you buried your head in the sand for long enough, nothing would happen?" By this stage, I was getting louder and louder. I needed to get this all off of my chest. "Asshole," I breathed under my breath.

"Edward! Don't you talk to me like that. I'm still the head of this coven."

I snorted sarcastically while I looked over his head. "And there it is. Are you still the head of this coven? Because, if that's the case, I want out. I don't need this kind of negativity in my life, nor do I want that kind of behavior in Isa's. She deserves to grow up without that kind of control.

"You made me miserable. Absolutely miserable for some eighty odd years. Some coven leader you are. I still can't believe I lasted as long as I did. If you insist on this _family_ being a _coven_ , maybe it's time for you and Esme to start talking about finding your own place."

I span around, pacing away from him. I had a lot of angry energy to work off. I couldn't believe the gall of this man, one who I had thought of as my father. And to expect me to accept his apology without an explanation! Wasn't I worth, at least, that much?

I was so caught in my thoughts that I almost missed Carlisle's mumbled, "I can't. Esme's not talking to me."

My laugh was soft and a little maniacal. "Well, I wonder why that could be." I spread my arms out wide. "Dickhead."

Carlisle seemed to be stunned into silence at my insults. I'd never been so openly rude to him before.

It was at that point in our conversation I realized we were no longer alone in the Weasley's backyard. It was the heartbeat I heard first, then the quiet snicker at my insults after that. But it was the slow, calculated walk from behind me that really drew my attention. I spun around only to see the one face I wasn't sure we'd see over the holiday break.

"Opi," I breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Bella, of course!" Opi quipped, causing me to let out a laugh. I gripped him in a hug when he was close enough. When I pulled back, he held me at arm's length. "I heard from Albus that you weren't going home for Christmas, so I thought I'd come see what was going on. But I need you to calm down, son. I've been listening to your conversation, and you're right about all that you've said, but you'll never get answers to your questions if you keep accusing him."

Carlisle threw his hands in the air. "Yes, thank you."

Opi turned and pointed at Carlisle. "You need to shut up and listen, too."

I'd never seen Carlisle's mouth drop open quite so quickly. He seemed to be speechless, but not just because he was told to shut up. Opi always gave off this air, not something that had ever bothered me, but you could tell he was old, older than you thought, and it made you stop and pay attention.

Opi waved his wand, conjuring some chairs out of thin air. "You'll forgive this old man. While I might be spry at heart, and can move fairly well, some days are more taxing on my body than others. I believe this conversation will be taxing."

I snorted but pulled my seat up next to someone who had become a true friend.

Opi's voice commanded Carlisle and I to listen when he started to talk. Firstly to Carlisle with much more knowledge about our family than I knew he possessed. "First of all, you're smart enough to know that you could have made some enquiries about Edward and what you had seen or experienced in his presence. You knew enough about the wizarding world to do just that. Plus, you had enough friends in Remus, James, and Sirius to know they would have led you in the right direction had you just asked."

Carlisle growled lowly. "But I didn't know for sure! I only suspected."

"And when you suspected you should have contacted your friends. Although, from what I've investigated and found out, you didn't know the three musketeers then." I laughed at his description of the marauders; I could see why he called them that. "But … you did know Albus Dumbledore, well at least the younger version of him."

It was my turn to growl. "Which means that when he introduced himself to you at our home in Forks, you knew who he was."

"Yes." Carlisle was becoming frustrated. "I knew who he was. How do you think he knew to send the marauders when they needed us or after Bella had drawn her pictures?"

"Because Isa had left our address on the back of those pictures! She's shown me the ones you're talking about. Why didn't you say anything then?"

A hand landed on my arm. "Calm, Edward, please," Opi whispered before turning to face Carlisle again. "Though he's right; you should have said something then. The minute you had suspicions about Edward, you should have gotten in touch with Albus. He would have been more than happy to provide you with some possibilities. He might have even been able to teach Edward some control. Something to help with all the strange things that were happening around him.

"Although, from what I know about Albus Dumbledore, he likely would have advised you to bring him into the wizarding world. A place where your species is accepted for who you are, not what you are. Where standing out and being strange is weird according to your muggle point of view."

I froze as Carlisle flinched at Opi's words. And I could tell from Opi's thoughts that he'd seen it as well.

"But that's the problem, isn't it? You've always been afraid to stand out, unless it was at the hospital. You've been afraid to be less than what you thought you were and afraid of what you yourself are. And that fear turned you into a controlling man."

"No," Carlisle whispered, pacing around. He hadn't taken the seat Opi had conjured for him. "No. I am not that man."

Opi snorted. "Even now at St. Mungo's, you have a need to be on top."

Again Carlisle froze. "How do you know anything about that?"

Opi smirked. "I have a friend who has a portrait at St. Mungo's. You hear and learn a lot when people ignore you. But let me tell you something; I've been a lot of things, learned a lot of crafts, and do you know where I started? No?" he asked rhetorically when Carlisle said nothing. "I started at the bottom. I learned my craft, my trade, so well that I could do it all blindfolded …"

"With an arm tied behind your back, right?" Carlisle snarled, to which I snarled back. No-one would try to intimidate my friends.

"It's okay, Edward." Opi patted my arm again. "Carlisle is feeling a little defensive. As he should; he's having his thoughts and actions shoved in his face."

We heard a "hmph" from across from us.

"Did you know, Edward, that when I started as an apprentice wandmaker, I was only allowed to gather the wood for the wands for the first decade. I had to learn which tree was right and which branches were the correct ones to take. That decade was very well spent. And only after I had learned all that I could, about selecting the correct trees and branches, was I able to try carving my first wand."

"Because honing your craft makes you the best you can be. You never stop learning," I said.

Opi clapped. "Exactly, young Edward! There is nothing more humble than learning to start over from scratch and admitting that you need to. Before I became the wandmaker I am today, I was the best alchemist in the world. I taught young minds how to do just that; it was—and still is—the best school ever. But I started at the bottom when I learned to craft wands because I had to learn everything from scratch."

"But I'm already a doctor. I shouldn't have to start from scratch!"

"And? You're a muggle doctor trying to work in a magical hospital. Just because you were a doctor in the muggle world doesn't mean you are entitled to start out as a healer in a wizarding hospital. They will sometimes, happily, use your muggle expertise if they are stumped. But it was your task, before you started, to train your mind to detect all the wizarding ailments."

"And I read everything I could …"

Opi held up his hand, interrupting what Carlisle was going to say. I really wished I had some popcorn. It was getting good. "Did I ask you a question?" Opi waited but Carlisle said nothing. "That was your downfall. You thought reading about ailments and knowing all the causes would make detecting them easy, that you could step straight into the healer role and take over like you did at the muggle hospitals I researched." Both Carlisle and I were surprised at that bit of information. "You expected to jump right in at the top. Here, though, you are the trainee; you should be learning from the healers and nurses. Take the time to learn from those around you; if that takes you the next decade, so be it. Learn all the abilities you're able to perform without magic. Learn to brew your own potions and use your vampire abilities to detect what potions are needed from the apothecary to treat the patients. And if magic is needed, for Merlin's sake, ask for help!"

"Geez, Carlisle," I moaned, covering my face with my hands. "How many people could you have hurt with your God complex?"

"Nobody! I would never do that! And I don't have a God complex," Carlisle yelled. It was the loudest I'd ever heard him speak—ever.

Opi pointed at Carlisle again, pinning him in his place. "So, start out with some humility and accept that you know squat about anything in the wizarding world. Let go of your need to control everyone and everything around you. Conquer your fears by confronting them head on, and learn, learn, learn!"

Carlisle had finally stopped arguing. In fact, he was standing there looking completely dressed down.

"So you held me back because of your fears? You didn't help me because you were afraid? Geez, Carlisle, nice. You know, it's going to be a long while before I can forgive you for this."

"What do I do now?" Carlisle whispered. "Where do I go from here?"

"You change," Opi stated bluntly. "Change your attitude at St. Mungo's. Trail the healers, the nurses; learn all you can. If you change your tune, they'll be more accepting of you and more willing to teach you, if you stop trying to tell them what to do."

"Your contact is good." I was awed.

"I know." Opi smirked. "I'm glad I decided to come today; your conversation was going absolutely nowhere."

I laughed because he was right.

Opi looked pointedly at me. _But I also came to tell you that your potion is brilliant. It'll work._ I heard in his thoughts. I frowned at that; I hadn't told him of my talent. _When you live for as long as I have, you learn to pick up a thing or two. That and my contacts—as in plural—are brilliant._ His confession made me chuckle. After that, he turned back to Carlisle. "And if this doesn't work out, Carlisle, there are hundreds—thousands—of other things you can do in the wizarding world that will still benefit everyone. Find your niche." At this, Opi stood up, and I followed. "Now, I think it's time for Christmas dinner, then presents!"

Again, I laughed before I followed Opi into the tent, leaving Carlisle to his thoughts.

For the next half hour, everything was as it normally was, bar the fact that Carlisle hadn't come back inside. It was like a normal Christmas at the Weasleys, loud and fun. And even when he joined us, we all just ignored the tension, and him, and enjoyed ourselves.

Molly's jumpers were once again a hit and not just with us. It seemed we were right, and Molly had more orders than she could knit. For now though, she left those orders on a wait list, and she'd get to them when she got to them. Maybe one day, we could help her with them or get her an assistant.

Other gifts were handed out, including the fudge for our friends, even though some of them didn't know if they were going to be using it or not. We'd all appropriately acted jealous, then excited, then took turns pleading for turns when James and Sirius gave Harry a brand new broom, an honest to Merlin Firebolt. I wasn't even a little bit jealous, not at all.

Thanks to the wonderful girls at Flu-2-U, I was able to get some more records of some of the artists Isa had taken a liking to. And when I say some, there were about twenty of them. I just couldn't help myself.

"I'm gonna have to find a way to listen to these at school. What did you guys use in the muggle world?" Isa asked, looking through the records.

"We had what we called iPods. They were a portable music player that we could fill with hundreds of songs and take them everywhere," I explained, catching the attention of just about every witch and wizard.

Isa frowned. "Why can't I get one of those?"

I pulled her onto my lap. "Unfortunately, my girl, you need a computer and electricity to not only run the iPod, but charge it, and put the music on it as well. Not things found in the wizarding world."

 _Hmph. I need to get to work. This is ridiculous. We're so far behind it isn't funny._

"That may be true when it comes to some things, but with others, you're far more advanced. Now what did you get me?" I tickled her, trying to cheer her up.

"I didn't get you anything!" Isa shrieked, which caused me to stop tickling her and to give her a pout. "I said I didn't get you anything, but I did make you something."

Isa bounded off my lap and over to the Christmas tree that had been placed in the corner. She reached down for the last present and skipped back over to me. "Here, Teddy. I hope you like it."

I could see that Isa was nervous, so I wasted no time in unwrapping what she had given me. Under the paper was a cardboard box with no discerning marks; in fact, the smart girl had decorated it just to make sure I couldn't see anything written on it. I set the box on the table before I lifted the flaps and reached inside. I frowned when I felt something soft but hard, supple but firm. When I pulled it out, well them because there were two, I was flabbergasted.

"Isa, what is this?" I asked as I turned the leather sleeve-like objects over and over in my hands. They were the length of my entire arm from elbow to knuckle on the top, and elbow to wrist on the bottom. There was a niche on the bottom of one of the sleeves that ran the length of it with a mechanism on the inside. It was all held together with leather straps, black buttons, and buckles.

I looked up when she didn't immediately answer me, only to see her looking at the—I suppose sleeves would have been the best description—in my hands.

"Isa?"

"Do you remember when we were doing some research a couple months ago with that journal we were reading?" She looked up at me to see me nod. "Do you remember the piece of advice we were given at the end of it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this was my solution." Isa reached over and picked up one of the sleeves. "Right arm please." When I held out my arm, she started to speak again while undoing the sleeve. "For the last two years, but more so last year, we spoke about the need to have our wands handy because keeping them in our pockets wasn't conducive to dueling." Next, Isa rolled the sleeve of my shirt up to my elbow before wrapping her sleeve around my arm and started to buckle it back up. "This gauntlet will keep your wand on your arm, as it were, and handy." Isa finished buckling it then pulled my wand from my jacket pocket before she slipped it into the niche she had made on the bottom of the sleeve and slid it right down the length of my arm.

"With a fast jerking movement of straightening out your arm, it will launch your wand straight into your hand." Here Isa smirked. "If you're quick enough to catch it, that is." After she rolled the sleeve of my shirt down and did the button up, Isa finished her explanation. "And of course, the only part of the gauntlet that's shown is on top of your hand; everything else is hidden under your clothes."

I was stunned. My gorgeous, smart girl had thought of a solution to a problem that we've not only had for the last couple years but also because of the situation we would have had once we transformed into our animagus forms. We wouldn't leave our wands laying on the ground.

Isa was getting nervous the longer I didn't say anything. "Isa, this is … there are no words. You created a solution to a problem I hadn't even had time to consider yet. It's a brilliant design; I love it. But can I ask a question?"

"Of course." She smiled.

"Why are there two? I know it's not for you because it's too large."

Isa gestured to the other one and started to fit it on my other arm. "I figured if someone was looking for where your wand was hidden then having something like that on only one arm would be a giveaway, so I made a matching one for the other arm. Like a disguise."

I rolled my arms around, getting a feel for them, when she finished strapping the other one on. They were comfortable and something I could wear every day without worrying about them getting in the way.

I leaned over to give Isa a long kiss on her forehead. "They're fantastic, Isa, truly. Now where are yours?"

"I've been wearing mine all day!"

"What? No way!"

I didn't realize until that moment that Emmett and Rose had been paying close attention to us.

"Come on, squirt; show us what you've got. That's some cool hardware, bro." Emmett leaned over my shoulder to look while Rose came around to help Isa roll up the sleeves of her blue jumper.

"It really is!" I beamed with pride at what my mate had designed but was in awe once again when Isa revealed hers.

What I had thought were short, blue leather, fingerless gloves, with some lace and buttons for decoration, were actually gloves that went all the way to Isa's elbow. Around her arm was a brown leather decoration that also housed the mechanism for launching her wand on her right arm. The brown leather had an imprinted design on it that also incorporated what looked like white twine, but I knew wouldn't be. Again, it was stunning.

"Those are beautiful, Isa." I reached out and held her arm tenderly, twisting it this way and that to take in all the decoration. "They truly do suit you. I love that color on you too. While Gryffindor red looks nice, blue is definitely your color."

"Thank you, Teddy. You really like them?"

I shook my head. "I don't like them; I love them. You took a simple idea of finding some way to store our wands more easily and took it above and beyond that."

"If I had a wand, I'd want one!" Rose stated while looking at them.

"I do want them, and I don't have a wand!" Emmett boomed right in my ear, causing me to wince. "Sorry, Edward."

I nodded in acceptance of his apology but before I could say anything to him, or more to Isa, we were surrounded by our friends wanting to have a look at what had Emmett so excited. I lost her then because every one of them became just as excited as Emmett had.

But it was Alice's thoughts that caught my attention; they caused me to lock eyes with her and shake my head.

Alice frowned but tilted her head in a questioning manner. _Why not?_

"Because I don't want our enemies to have any of the advantages we make between now and what's coming." I whispered at vampire pitch.

 _Oh, good point. Maybe we'll just keep these to ourselves._ Alice smirked at me. _Besides, Isa will be busy making them for all the young ones here. Plus Draco, Neville, and Luna. They truly are ingenious and work brilliantly. Watch …_ Alice proceeded to show me a vision of Isa and I dueling in our backyard, starting right at the bow where our wands were missing; to the pair of us flicking our arms and catching our wands before taking our starting stances. _They'll always be there when you need them now and not shoved in your pockets. She's brilliant, Edward. First the Bubble Lamps, and now this. She's going places, and so are you._

I just sat back and smiled with pride at what my girl had accomplished. There was none prouder in that room than me.

"Hey, Edward, now that presents are done, do you think you and Bella can spare some time for me and Rose?"

"Sure, Emmett." I stood up with Emmett, Rose and Isa following suit. Instead of heading outside, we took a small table in the corner. Isa planting herself in my lap when we sat. "What's going on?"

Rose and Emmett looked at each other, having a silent conversation, which I tried to ignore before facing us again. It was Rose who spoke first. "With everything that's been going on since Thanksgiving, Emmett and I have come to some decisions. We knew eventually we'd have to move out of Swan Manor because it will become the place that you and Bella will want to raise your family, and you deserve to do that without all of us underfoot."

"Because we don't want to be too far from our family, we began some research," Emmett continued. "Through some of the forest to the back of your manor, Bella, is a road, not a major one, but a road all the same. Your land butts up to that road; we were hoping you would sell it to us so we didn't have to be too far away from you."

Isa and I were quiet, both surprised by the conversation we were having. It must have made Rose nervous because she continued on. "We want to build a half-muggle, half-magic house because we plan to, eventually, foster some of the children at the Middle House, and they need access to both. On the plus side to that, we'd have electricity in half of the house meaning …"

"Meaning that Teddy would be able to get me an iPod, and I'd have a place to charge it!" Isa exclaimed, causing me to laugh.

"Nice leap there, baby girl. I'm glad that it's all about you."

Isa slapped my shoulder gently. "That's not what I meant." She blew me a raspberry. "I don't have a problem with you building there. You don't even have to buy it from me; I can give it to you."

Both Rose and Emmett shook their heads. Rose going on to explain. "We need to show ownership to be able to build, but we couldn't take that big a gift from you. Let us pay for it, please, Bella."

"Okay. But not too much!"

"We'll have Kreacher come and remove the spells hiding the section of land that you want. That way, you can have it valued and then argue the price with Isa all you want." I chuckled. I reached my hand across the table toward Emmett and Rose. "Welcome to the neighborhood."

"Thank you both." Rose beamed at Emmett. They were finally getting everything they wanted, including children.

~*~UHS~*~

The day before New Year's Eve, Isa came to me nervous, wringing her hands and very unsure of herself. I could tell all of this just as she stepped in the door.

"Isa, my girl, why so nervous?"

"I've had an idea, but I'm not sure how you're going to react because you're still so emotional about C-Carlisle." She stuttered over his name, so used to calling him daddy.

I sighed, reached out, and grabbed her hands. "You can still call him daddy, Isa. He's still your daddy so you can call him as such, and as upset as I am with him, he's still my father for all intents and purposes. I'll get over this betrayal, eventually. So what is it that's making you so nervous?"

"Um … you know how good my hearing is?" I nodded to her question. It was what she seemed to need. "Well, I overheard your … um … talk with Daddy and Mr. Opi on Christmas Day, and I may have, probably have, come up with a solution for … um … him."

I frowned, listening to her halted speech and jumbled mind. She really was conflicted. Isa was loyal to me, almost to a fault, but she so badly wanted to help Carlisle feel more at ease in the wizarding world. She was mad at him but felt sorry for him too. But what she didn't want to do was betray me; it was her fear that helping Carlisle would, in turn, have me mad at her.

"Oh, sweetheart. You have such a big heart, and I would never be mad at you for wanting to help someone in our family. Besides, it might even help me if Carlisle has something to take _control_ of, even if it's his own destiny. So hop up here on the bed and show me what you've planned."

"Well, Daddy's biggest problem is that he can't be what he used to be because he doesn't know anything about healing in this world, right?"

"Right."

"I thought of a way that will help him learn, at least, part of what he needs to know."

I chuckled, tickling Isa under the chin. "Sweet girl, you're rambling. What is it? Show me."

"Okay!" Isa jumped off the bed and bolted for the cupboard we had over to the side of the room, pulled a medium box off the floor, and toted it over. "Daddy needs to learn how to make potions and what they're for, on top of learning whether a spell, potion, or creature hurt someone, right?" She didn't even pause long enough for me to answer. "I found a way that can at least help with the way things look, and how they smell; at least, I think so. I can also help with the potion thing. I know you've been busy and distracted with everything that's been going on, so while you've been distracted, Sirius has been helping me. We've been to Diagon Alley quite a bit over the last few days. Paula, Lulu, and Mr. Wiseacre have been Merlin sent."

I chuckled again at her sweet rambling.

Isa reached the bed and started pulling things out of the box before she rushed back to the wardrobe to grab a glass jar. I didn't see what it was until she turned around. Inside that glass jar was a small fire.

"Uh … now what spell was it?" Isa released her wand from her gauntlet and pointed it at the items she'd placed on the bed. "Oh. Engorgio."

The spell shot out of the end of her wand, making the things on the bed grow and expand to their normal sizes. Once full sized, I was able to tell what they were. Isa had gotten three books, a cauldron, a ladle, plus two starter kits. One with many different implements to prepare ingredients and the other one full of ingredients to make potions. Both of them were called The Squib Starter Kit, with an explanation as to what was in each of them. I looked over the ingredient kit to see there were a few that had to be mashed, or diced, or chopped by wand work, but they had already been prepared and then placed in a jar. I'd seen them in Mr. Wiseacre's shop, on a stand, titled _Ingredients for the Lazy Wizard_.

To this group of things, she added the glass jar with the miniature fire inside.

I picked up one of the books and looked it over. It was a large volume of potions that could be made without magic; it was written by _Filamona Thumble_ , and she'd called it _Potions for Squibs_. The only things needed were the fire, cauldron, and the ingredients. Carlisle could be brewing potions as early as the following weekend. Isa was looking at me quietly, judging my reactions to her gift.

"I think this is a wonderful idea, pretty girl. Carlisle should appreciate having such a thankful daughter."

"You think so?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded, swapping the books over. This one was another large volume; only, in it were pictures with medical jargon, explaining the different ailments. It showed what their reactions would be on skin, and what would cause it. It also explained the smells associated with the different problems. If this book could have provided those smells, it would have been the be all and end all of the help Carlisle needed. "This is an awesome book, Isa. It's a shame it doesn't explore the smells that he needs to diagnose."

"Tsk, Teddy. You should be smarter than that." Isa scolded. She put the book on the bed because it was quite heavy and opened it up to a specific page. " _Bubotuber Pus is the liquid found in the swelling of the magical Bubotuber plant. It is very valuable for its acne-ridding qualities. It is a thick, yellowish-green liquid and smells strongly of petrol._ " Isa grabbed my hand and rubbed part of the picture with one of my fingers. "Now smell your finger."

I frowned but followed her instruction, raised my finger, and sniffed, only to pull it away from my face. It smelled exactly like petrol.

"Now look at this one. _Despite retaining healing powers, when undiluted, it can cause painful, large, yellow boils to form immediately on the skin, and dragon-hide gloves are recommended to be worn while handling it._ If you rub on the boils, then smell, it gives off that petrol smell too. Daddy will be able to learn what smells emanate from certain things. But not only that, the potion book does it too because certain potions have certain smells."

I pulled Isa to me and gave her a squeezing hug with a kiss to the top of her head. I picked up the last of the books, noticing it was a notebook. I flipped through the pages to see that she had made copious notes to help Carlisle produce any number of the potions in the first book I had looked at. "Carlisle will love this, but how did you do it?"

Isa snorted. "With all the trips to Diagon Alley I've made the last few days, I spoke to a lot of people. And all of them were eager to help when I explained what I was doing. That's why I took the time to write all the notes down in here." She tapped her finger on the notebook. "I figured Daddy would need as much help as he could get."

"That's my smart girl. Now, what I want to know is how does that fire work?"

"This is magical fire." Isa picked up the jar, turning it this way and that. "All Daddy needs to do is tip just a little into place under the cauldron. I've managed to work the spell so it'll know when it needs to heat to a boil or when it needs to lower to a simmer." She rolled her eyes at herself. "Okay, so I didn't. I had some help from Sirius and Remus while you were in your trunk. But he won't need a wand to use this fire, and it'll keep rebuilding itself."

"Well then, I guess the only question we have left is when do you want to give all of it to him?"

~*~UHS~*~

I calmed down a lot by the time we made our way to Swan Manor for New Year's Eve. Because we didn't spend Christmas Eve with our family, Isa and I decided we would give Esme that time before we went back to school. Plus, on top of that, it was the first time Carlisle would be home during the day for Isa to give him her present.

When we arrived, Carlisle and I said hello to each other and behaved civilly but didn't actually do any talking. After one of our boisterous lunches, Isa dragged Carlisle and Esme away and into the office they'd set up for him.

"What's going on, Edward?" Emmett asked, joining me when I sat down at my piano. I had missed playing it.

I smiled. "Isa's come up with a solution to help Carlisle. She came to me with it yesterday. She's brilliant."

"That she is," Rose agreed, coming in behind Alice and Jasper. "How do you feel about her helping Carlisle?"

"I'm fine with it. It'll take a while for me to forgive him, but that doesn't mean he still isn't her daddy. She only wants to help those she loves. Just listen; they haven't set the Bubble Lamp going."

While I quietly played the piano, I searched the house for where Hermione had gone, only to find her in her studio, painting. She had a real talent, and I couldn't wait to see what this latest one was going to be. The others sat and listened to not only me but the conversation going on in Carlisle's study. The only one not with her mouth wide open was Alice. She'd seen parts of this conversation, but even with that, she was surprised at the lengths Isa had gone to help.

 _Oh, Edward?_ I looked up at Alice but continued playing. _I found that place out in the forest you wanted. Did it say when the dew had to be collected?_

I thought over the instructions and shook my head.

 _Okay. The second night of the full moon cycle next month, the twelfth, will be full and clear. You said you needed the moon's rays?_ I nodded. _I'll send Jasper out with a silver spoon a couple days beforehand to collect two spoonfuls in a couple vials. It's a Monday, so you'll have to come back that night. Can you manage it?_

I nodded again before focusing back on my piano while I thought over everything else. The Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalises had been delivered—we had a couple small crystal vials, so all we were waiting on was the full moon next month and an electrical storm. The potion would be stored here until we were ready. I hoped it wouldn't take long.

When Isa was done explaining things to Carlisle and Esme, she came out and sat on the bench next to me, resting her head on my arm. She loved to listen to me play, plus we were giving Carlisle time to absorb everything she'd done for him. He was simply in shock.

 _Where's Hermione?_ Isa asked.

"Painting."

 _I'm gonna go spend some time with her. Come get me later before we head outside for the fireworks Jasper and Emmett got their hands on._

I chuckled, leaning down and kissing her forehead, nodding to let her know I would.

I thought I would have a quiet afternoon, just playing my piano, maybe catching up on some reading, and generally just relaxing away from the pressures of school. I had just settled into the library when there was a distinctive pop from the foyer. It could have been Kreacher because we'd left him at Sirius's place for the day, but the minute I heard the thoughts, I knew it wasn't.

I stood and made my way out to greet our new guest. "Dobby. What are you doing here?"

"Dobby has been keeping an eye on the Malfoy house, just in case Mrs. Malfoy or Master Malfoy needed Dobby. Today, Mr. Malfoy left Malfoy Manor with a lot of his friends. Dobby was able to get inside to see them."

"How are they, Dobby? Are they okay?" I would forever worry about them being there. There's no telling how far Malfoy Sr. would go to keep them quiet. And I couldn't help but worry more when Dobby couldn't hold back a grimace. "We should get them out of there." I growled.

"No," Dobby stated emphatically. "Master Draco says they are fine. He asked me to hand this to you." Dobby held out a letter in an envelope made of plain stock paper.

"Thank you. Are you hanging around? There's something I'd like to send back to Draco and Narcissa."

"I can, Master Edward, but you'll have to be fast in case Mr. Malfoy comes back."

"I will." I ripped open the envelope while I walked back to the library and unfolded it just as I sat back down in the chair I was in before Dobby had popped in.

 _Edward,_

 _Please don't panic; things are, well, normal around here. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas; ours was … busy, as usual._

 _I just wanted to let you know it wasn't me who made the complaint about Buckbeak but my father. He'd been pushing me to do so, but I wouldn't. And when I didn't, he made the complaint on my behalf._

 _Please, if you see Hagrid before we go back to school, tell him I'm sorry._

 _My father, and his minions, are currently at the Ministry pushing for the execution to be sooner than later. He's also attempting to make a complaint about Hagrid, Professor Cullen, and Professor Whitlock because of what they are. My mother and I don't think it will come to anything, but please, just warn them._

 _If I hear anything else, I'll let you know as soon as I can._

 _Draco._

My head fell back to the chair behind me. _Damn, he just won't leave things alone._ Lucius Malfoy was a persistent son-of-a-bitch; if there was one person I'd like to have gone at the end of this war, it would be him. I only felt slightly guilty at that thought.

This was going to devastate Esme if something came of his complaint.

I reached over to the desk nearby and picked up some plain cardstock. Couldn't have Malfoy Sr. finding anything with Swan Manor on it.

 _Draco,_

 _I'm glad to hear that things are no worse for you. Although, I still wish you and your mother would let us help you get out of there. It drives me to distraction that a friend of mine is in a situation such as yours. Though, I do understand._

 _I will advise Esme and Jasper as to what your father is doing. Unfortunately, I will not be seeing Hagrid before school. That apology might be better coming from you; I'm sure he'd understand._

 _I do have a question. What do you or your mother know of Peter Pettigrew? What have you heard from the death eaters? Any information would be helpful._

 _Please stay safe. Don't do any heroics._

 _Edward._

Once I was finished, I walked back out to Dobby, who had waited patiently for my letter.

"Thank you for waiting, Dobby. Don't go back in if you're going to get caught."

"Dobby won't, Master Edward. See you later." With that, Dobby clicked his fingers and was gone. I would forever be amazed by what the house elves could do, and it made me wonder why they weren't paid for anything.

Instead of going back to the library, I made my way into the kitchen to help Esme, who had finally left Carlisle's office. He was currently going through every page of the books Isa had given him. "Hello, Esme, what are we going to be eating tonight?"

"Hello, Edward dear." Her bottom lip trembled when she looked up at me. "Thank you." _For letting Bella help Carlisle. That can't have been easy for you._

"You'd think so, but it really wasn't. I don't wish him any ill will, and Isa was able to come up with something that he needed. I'll be able to forgive him eventually, just not now."

"And I can understand that," Esme murmured as she rounded the island to cup my face with both hands. "Take your time, Edward. Nobody will blame you for the time you take for yourself. Every one of us in this house needs time to do that. Now, we're making a lot of finger food and snack food for this evening."

I spent the next few hours in the kitchen with Esme. Not only helping to prepare the food for cooking, but Esme also taught me how to cook what she was making. I decided it was something I wanted to do more of—learn to cook—for when Isa and I had a family. I knew we would have Kreacher, but there would be times I would want to provide for them, and the only way I'd be able to do that would be if I learned how.

While working with Esme, I filled her in on what Draco's letter had said. She was upset by what Lucius was up to but knew this was an act of a man wanting to control things that were beyond his control. He'd keep going and going until there was nothing left for him to control or complain about.

We worked until we both heard the familiar pop.

"Go on, Edward; I can finish up in here."

"Thank you, Esme." I placed a kiss on her cheek before moving off to meet Dobby in the foyer where he was waiting like last time. "I assume everything went well?"

"Yes, Master Edward. Dobby was leaving just as Mr. Malfoy was returning. Mrs. and Master Malfoy should be safe enough for now."

"Thank you, Dobby. Your help is invaluable. Do you want anything before you leave?"

"No. Professor Dumbledore has something else for Dobby to do. Thank you." Dobby bowed, clicked his fingers, and left before I spun and walked back toward the kitchen.

Esme placed a goblet of dragon blood next to me when I took a seat at the island and ripped open the envelope. The first thing I noticed was that this wasn't written in Draco's hurried script; this one was much more feminine.

 _Edward,_

 _Draco came to me when he received your return letter. I must say, I was concerned when I read that you wanted to know about Peter Pettigrew. It makes me wonder why._

 _But in answer to your question, Peter is equally hated and laughed at among the death eaters. They always thought he was a sniveling little weasel. They hated the way he was equally afraid and worshipping of the Dark Lord, especially the way he kissed up to him. It was a source of much entertainment._

 _But the reason they hate him so much is because they blame him for the downfall of the Dark Lord. He was the reason the Dark Lord went after Lily and James, and the reason the Dark Lord knew where they were located. They believe that if it wasn't for Peter then it's possible the Dark Lord would have succeeded._

 _There was much celebration when Peter's mother was presented with the only part of him that was left: a finger. Although, they were equally repugnant that he was awarded the Order of Merlin for relieving the world of the Dark Lord._

 _As far as I was concerned, I always believed there was more going on in that mind than anyone ever gave him credit for. Even his so-called friends, James, Sirius, and Remus. He was equally conniving as he was cowardly._

 _I hope this was helpful. We will stay as safe as we can. I know you wish to pull us out, but it's important we be here where we are. I appreciate it more than I can tell you._

 _Thank you, Edward._

 _Narcissa._

I blew out a breath when I was finished reading. Narcissa had given me a lot to think about, but something stuck out in my mind. Peter had lost a finger, a finger that had been delivered to his mother. I remembered a conversation from the summer about how Peter had originally been one of the Marauders—Wormtail—able to turn into a rat, which meant there was a rat running around in Hogwarts missing a finger.

There was only one rat I knew was missing a finger. It seemed I'd have to try to catch a rodent in the upcoming semester. I wanted to see if my theory was correct.

I wondered if Crookshanks would be amenable to helping me.

"Everything okay, dear?" Esme interrupted my thoughts.

"Yes, Esme. I got all the answers I needed. Draco and Narcissa are okay, for now. Hopefully, they'll stay that way."

"That's good." She sighed. "Shall we all head outside for dinner and fireworks?"

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll go get Hermione and Isa."

Everyone gathered on the back veranda where I had lit the fire pits we had installed. We lit them mostly because Isa and Hermione could feel the cold, and sometimes, it was nice to feel warmth. We talked and joked, even with Carlisle, celebrating the end of the old year and welcoming in the new one. Once it was late enough, we made sure that Isa's puppies were away, and that Athan and Saffy couldn't be scared from their Owlery, and stood out in the yard waiting for Emmett and Jasper to start their fireworks display.

Isa stood in front of me so I could wrap my arms around her shoulders. She was starting to get so tall. It made me wonder how much taller she would grow. Something else I had wondered about a few days ago crossed my mind, and I thought it would be the best time to ask.

"Hey, Isa?"

"Mmm?"

I stretched my hand out in front of me looking at the gauntlet Isa had designed once again. "This leather isn't normal leather, is it? I mean, it doesn't come from a cow, and it doesn't feel like the dragon hide gloves we use at school, so where did you get it?"

I felt Isa stiffen ever so slightly in my arms, but she reached out and touched the gauntlet that I wore at all times, just like she did. "Remember last year when we took down the basilisk?"

It was me who froze that time. "Yes?"

"I learned that apart from dragon hide, one of the strongest leathers out there is made from the oldest of creatures. One time, with the help of Fawkes, I was able to get back into the Chamber and relieve the basilisk of some of its skin. Thanks to the conditions, some of the skin had already turned into leather, and I was able to make these."

"Huh." I hadn't thought about going back and harnessing some of the basilisk for anything. Isa was a smart girl. "I think that sometime when we get back to school, we need to see what else we can harvest."

"You're not mad?"

I snorted. "No. It's something I should have thought of myself. I hope not too much of it has rotted away."

"Actually, thanks to the conditions down there, most of it's still intact."

I bent down and kissed the top of Isa's head. "Smart girl. Guess we have a field trip coming up soon."

Isa laughed. "Guess so."

We lapsed back into silence, and I smiled while I listened to the awe of not only my family, but from Isa and Hermione too. I loved that something so simple could make us all so happy.

"I think this was a good thing, Teddy. Even for you and Daddy," Isa whispered.

"Me too. I'm still mad at him, but this has helped heal a little part of me."

It was nearing midnight, and instead of watching the fireworks, Isa turned to face me. "I love you, Teddy. I'm so glad we were able to find each other." I noticed that her words had slurred a little. She was getting tired, combine that with the fudge on the roof of her mouth, and she was tripping over her words a little. It wasn't something anyone else would notice, but I did.

"I love you too, Isa. My life has never been as fulfilling as it has the last few years. Thank you for finding me."

When the clock struck midnight, I looked up at the large firework set that Emmett and Jasper set off before I looked down at Isa. I could feel the slightest hint of a change about us as I leaned down and Isa leaned up so that I could leave the softest, sweetest kiss right on the corner of her mouth. It was something innocent, but so damn beautiful.

I didn't know what that change was, but I enjoyed what it was, for right then. As much as I couldn't wait for what would happen as Isa grew, I was so incredibly happy with what we had right now.

"Happy New Year, Isabella."

"Happy New Year, Edward."

~*~UHS~*~

After the initial excitement of catching the Hogwarts Express back to school, we settled into some quiet. Despite the fun we'd had at Christmas, Fred, George, and Ginny were unsure how to start a conversation with me. It took them a while to settle down and realize that it was okay to act like themselves, that I was okay, and what was best was for them to act normally.

By the time the trolley lady came around with lunch, we were done with our catching up and starting to pull out reading material. We were all over the place with regard to what we were reading. Some were reading for class, others were reading for pleasure, and then there was Harry, who was still researching dementors. We hadn't found any concrete evidence as to why they seemed to affect the both of us so much.

When I was done eating my lunch, I pulled out a copy of The Daily Prophet that was sold via a vendor on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. The headline had caught my attention.

 _DEMENTORS, THE GUARDS OF AZKABAN, TO PERFORM KISS_

 _The Ministry for Magic has decreed that when convicted mass murderer, Rabastan Lestrange, is caught, the dementors will have their expressed permission to perform the kiss._

 _The Dementor's Kiss is the act of a dementor sucking out a person's soul. A person can survive having their soul removed as long as their heart and brain are still alive. That person, however, will have no sense of self anymore, no memory … no anything. There is no chance of recovery. They will just exist as a shell, nothing more._

 _The Ministry sometimes uses it as a punishment; one that is worse than death, if you ask this reporter. Regardless of a person's crime, is something like this ever warranted?_

I looked out the window of the train, pondering everything I had just read. I didn't know if this kind of punishment was warranted, no matter the crime, because death would be welcomed over this. I don't know that I'd want to keep a shell of a human alive just to serve as a reminder that murder was not the least bit acceptable. But it seemed the Ministry wasn't messing around with the recapture of Lestrange. My concern was who would be hurt in the process of trying to recapture him?

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm ... things still not quite right at home, but it's better, right? I look forward to what you have to say.**

 **Hope you have a good couple of weeks. See you in a fortnight.**


	11. Chapter Ten - Change Is Coming

**Hello everyone, welcome to posting day! I hope everyone has had a good fortnight. Mine has been a little hectic, and I have no idea when it will settle down again. Maybe after I find a new house to move into!**

 **Thanks go to Pienuniek and Sally for all their hard work. I really would be lost without them. They make my words so much better!**

 **I don't own Twilight or Harry Potter, they belong to SM and JK Rowling, respectively. No copyright infringement in intended.**

 **Things are coming for our favourite couple and I cannot wait to share it all with you!**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten – Change is Coming**

The first couple days back were quiet. We had to quickly get back into the routine of breakfast, classes, and homework.

With the promise of the kiss, it seemed that the presence of the dementors was at an all-time high; well, more so the fear of the dementors getting too close, which meant they seemed to loom larger than life every time we went outside. It didn't make for a very comfortable learning environment.

The first Friday after coming back, Isa and I asked Kreacher, Emmett, and Jasper to meet us out in the courtyard after dinner. We were the first to arrive; granted, we were about ten minutes early.

"Do you think they'll help us?" Isa asked, breaking the silence.

I snorted. "I think you could ask them to jump up and down on one leg with a pacifier in their mouths and they'd do it." Isa cracked up at my description. "Well, Emmett might do it anyway, but let's not ask."

Isa was still chuckling when Kreacher popped in, followed by Emmett and Jasper exiting the castle.

Emmett didn't even wait until he was near us before he blurted out his question. "So what's with the clandestine meeting?"

"It's not clandestine. We just didn't want to talk about it where the walls literally have ears," I argued.

"A perfect definition of clandestine." Jasper chuckled. To which Isa and I shrugged. "So what's up?"

"How would you like to see"—Isa dragged out her question, catching the attention of both Jasper and Emmett—"a basilisk?"

Both of them froze. They had been leaning in as if they would hear Isa faster if she were closer. I smirked at their blank faces and thoughts but pulled Isa out of the way when both of them started to spin around in circles looking in every direction.

Isa giggled quietly, causing them to stop. "It's not out here, sillies. It's inside the castle."

"What?" Emmett and Jasper snapped before Jasper continued. "There's another one?"

This time it was me who chuckled quietly. "No, no. There isn't another one. The one we want to take you to see isn't even alive. Did you bring those bags and other things I asked you to bring?"

"Yeah, we left them just inside the door." Emmett paused. "What do you mean the one we are going to see isn't alive?"

"We're taking you down into the Chamber of Secrets. Unless you're scared," Isa whispered.

I tried to hide my laughter at Isa's obvious command over her two brothers. I had to cover my mouth and turn my head to hold it in, and in the process, I saw that even Kreacher had a smile on his face.

"We're not scared," Emmett and Jasper blurted out together.

"Are you sure?" Isa whispered again, throwing in the wiggly fingers for emphasis. "Who knows what's living down there now?"

"We're sure." Emmett nodded. "What are we going down there for?"

"We need supplies. Isa needs more of the skin to make her gloves for our friends. I want some of the other ingredients for my potions. We're going to gather as much as we can fit into bags, jars, boxes, and wrap in paper. Is that good with you?"

Jasper nodded while Emmett answered. "Hell, yes! I want to see this chamber and the basilisk."

They followed us back through the main door, grabbing their bags on the way past, and down the corridor toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"I presume the skin is going to need to be treated and turned into leather?" Jasper asked, making note of where we were going.

"From what Isa has told me, some of it already is because of the condition it's been kept in, but yes, some will need to be treated."

"Ooooh, another building project for me. Yes!" Emmett fist pumped. "I needed something else to do. Thank you, lil sis." Emmett ruffled her hair when he walked up beside her.

"You're welcome, Emmett. Thank you for taking on the project. There will be a lot of skin to work on."

Emmett shrugged. "Eh, I enjoy doing all sorts of things. Besides, it'll keep me occupied while we wait for the valuation on the land to come back."

We turned the corner as we continued talking about the land and what kind of house Emmett and Rose planned on building. Half of it was going to be magical, and half of it was going to run on electricity—thoroughly muggle. It was going to take some clever spell skills to set it all up, and I couldn't wait to see it.

"We're going in the girls' bathroom?" Jasper asked when we stopped outside the door.

I laughed. "It's the only way in there. Isa, please check on Myrtle first."

"Yes, Teddy." The cheeky girl that she was saluted me before she walked through the door.

"Geez, she's growing up right before our eyes," Jasper sighed. "Do you think we could find a spell to slow it down?"

"As much as I'd like to agree with you, I can't. I love watching her grow but can't wait for her to grow up. Does that make sense?"

Emmett nodded as he leaned against the wall. "Yeah, it does. I love being here to be her big brother, seeing both her and Hermione go from sweet, innocent little girls to ones discovering the world around them. For you, it's different; Bella's your mate, and although that part of it isn't there yet, you want to get there too and have everything we've had for decades. But on the other hand, you're completely enjoying her just being whom and what she is right now."

"Yeah," I sighed, "that about covers it."

We were silent while we waited for Isa to finish talking to Myrtle. It was taking longer than I would have liked because Myrtle was talking her ear off, mostly because Isa and Hermione hadn't been down to see her in a while. The poor ghost was lonely and starved for affection. Finally, we heard Isa finish up the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Myrtle, we should have come down sometime to say hello, but we've been busy. What with the dementors and Rabastan Lestrange. Besides, I said hello to you before Christmas when I came …"

"Yes, yes. To go into the Chamber. Wait; is that why you're here this time? Not to see me?" Myrtle wailed. "Fine. Just go down there." We heard the splash of Myrtle flying into her toilet before Isa sighed, whispered the password, and opened the door while the Chamber was opening.

"She really is quite dramatic." Isa huffed.

I kissed Isa's head as I walked past. "Most teenage girls are, sweetheart. You, Hermione, and Luna might be the exception."

"And maybe Ginny," Jasper mentioned. "But considering she's got all brothers, maybe not."

We all chuckled at that, but then quieted so Emmett and Jasper could stare open-mouthed at the spectacle in front of us. It really was a spectacular sight, watching the Chamber opening again. But for someone seeing it for the first time, it had to be a sight.

When it was completely opened, we all stepped forward.

"We're going down there?" Emmett asked.

"Yup!" Isa chirped. "Why? Are you scared?"

Emmett scoffed. "No."

"Sure you're not. Ready, Kreacher?" Isa held out her hand to the house elf who had said nothing since meeting up with us. He might have been quiet, but he'd taken everything in.

"Kreacher is ready, Miss Bella." He held her hand and walked up to the edge of the pipe. One after the other, they jumped into the pipe, disappearing from sight. I knew they were okay because I could hear Isa squealing in fun all the way down.

Emmett beamed as he and Jasper stepped up to the edge. "Okay, now this I gotta try! Lil sis, are you out the way?"

"When you're ready, Emmett!" we heard float up. Instead of jumping in first, Emmett pushed Jasper into the hole.

Then Emmett jumped into the pipe with me right behind him. I heard the opening close behind us, even over the top of Isa and Jasper's yells of fun. They were both thoroughly enjoying their slide down into the belly of the castle. I had forgotten that the pipe not only changed angles but also narrowed. I didn't realize Emmett was quiet until I came around the corner into the narrow section of the pipe and crashed right into him where he'd gotten stuck. Well, he didn't stay stuck. The second I crashed into him, he became unstuck, and we both careened down the pipe in a tangled mess, only to crash together in a lump of arms and legs at the bottom.

Emmett was cursing up a storm while I managed to change my fuck to a fu … dge as we tried to untangle ourselves. Isa was scolding Emmett for his language while Jasper and Kreacher were cracking up laughing.

 _Phew,_ I was so glad I caught that in time, but Merlin, now my hands needed scouring because they had touched places on my brother they should never have touched. I flicked my arm out fast enough that my wand shot into my hand. "Evanesco." I pointed it to my opposite hand and then ran it over my arm and body, which caused the most beautiful sound to erupt from my girl: her giggles.

After Emmett and I had managed to untangle ourselves, we all walked out into the cave. Emmett and Jasper became quiet, just processing everything they were seeing, including the piles of rocks Isa had used to keep Lockhart from hurting himself. It really was a stunning cave. But their reactions to the Chamber itself were ones I'd never forget. I think if their mouths had dropped open any farther, they would have hit the ground.

Regardless of what the Chamber had been used for, Salazar Slytherin was the master of his domain. Then there was the almost perfectly preserved basilisk at the bottom. I couldn't believe what good condition it was still in considering it had to have been almost eight months since we were here last.

"You guys battled that?" Jasper whispered in shock, his thoughts completely baffled. Emmett's thoughts weren't much better.

I nodded while Isa answered with, "Yup."

"That's huge!" Emmett shouted. Making echoes careen around the room. "Wow, when you said it was big, I didn't realize it was like this!"

"Master Edward, what do you need?"

I bobbed down next to Kreacher as Emmett and Jasper walked around inspecting not only the basilisk but also the cave we were in. "Anything that can be salvaged for potions or for Isa's gloves. Any part of it, and I want its fangs too."

Kreacher nodded and got to work while Isa was doing the same. I thought she might have been squeamish about cutting into what was, essentially, a sentient being, but she got right to it like she'd done so many, many times before. I plucked one of the bags off the ground where Jasper and Emmett had dumped them and started to collect parts of the snake too. I was looking for the venom glands and the more obscure parts, things that you wouldn't necessarily think of. Once Jasper and Emmett had finished marveling over everything, they got to work.

Thanks to the magic between Isa, Kreacher, and myself, we were able to gather a lot more than what I had originally planned. Meat we deemed unspoiled was collected and shrunk to fit in the small cooler with never-melting ice Emmett brought. The skin was treated the same. Jasper had brought down many bottles and vials that I filled with venom, blood, and other secretions like bile. The large fangs were given special care because I knew those things were deadly to the objects I knew we'd one day be hunting. After all, one had already destroyed the diary. By the time we'd finished, there wasn't a whole lot of the basilisk left.

"Well," Jasper sighed, "if you haven't gotten enough from this thing, then we've been going about this all wrong. Ready to go?"

I looked around at not only the cavern but up the pathway we came in by. "In a minute. There's something else I want to grab before we leave."

The others all frowned but followed me up the stairs and onto the walkway. I stopped in front of one of the large snakes with their mouths open, only to see that the yellow stones were still lit within. "I want those. Every single pair." I pointed them out.

"Do you think we can get them without damaging them?" Jasper asked, looking at one a little farther down.

Emmett shrugged as he looked at the one in front of me. "Who knows? We have no idea what they're made of. They could be as soft as snow."

"Kreacher?" Isa whispered. "It seems they've forgotten we're here. Do you think you can do something?"

Kreacher snickered, causing the three of us to turn to where Isa and he stood. "Kreacher thinks that sometimes the vampires are stuck in the muggle world, even after three years at Swan Manor and Hogwarts. Kreacher knows that change can be hard." With a click of his fingers, a small pile of yellow stones, glowing from within, landed at my feet. "Maybe one day, Master Edward will remember that he's in the wizarding world, no matter what he's doing."

"Maybe one day I will." I laughed, bending down to inspect the stones. I was grateful we hadn't tried to dig them out. Because while they were solid, a good squeeze or scrape with something would have caused them to come apart. Jasper handed me a felt bag that he pulled from his pocket. "Thank you, Kreacher. I don't know what we'd do without you."

"Shall Kreacher return us all to the bathroom now?"

Isa reached out for one of his hands. "Yes, thank you. Everyone grab someone!"

I held Isa's hand, after picking up the bag of stones, while Emmett and Jasper placed a hand on each of Kreacher's shoulders. In a click of his fingers, we were back in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Tsk, tsk. Isabella Swan and Edward Masen, you're out past your bedtime." A voice giggled from behind us. "What shall I do with you?"

"Hi, Myrtle! Are you feeling better?" Isa moved over to the young ghost. "Have you met my brothers Emmett Cullen and Jasper Whitlock?" She tried to deflect Myrtle, knowing that if she told anyone, we could all be in trouble. Not just for being out of bed after hours—more so Isa than me—but because we were back in the Chamber, not that we'd agreed to never go down there again.

The look that came across Myrtle's face could only be described as coy as she looked over Jasper and Emmett. She sidled in between Jasper and Emmett, leaning more toward the former. "No. I can't say that I've had the pleasure. Where have you been hiding them?"

I snickered; I couldn't help it. I'm sure if they could, both Emmett and Jasper would be blushing. They both glared at me, causing Kreacher and Isa to snicker as well.

"We haven't been hiding them, Myrtle," Isa giggled, "but they don't have any reason to come visiting the girls' bathroom."

Myrtle giggled, real girlishly. It was the most girly I'd ever heard her. She pretended to lay her head on Jasper's shoulder. "Guess I may just have to venture out of my toilet once-in-a-while."

"Uh … I have to get going. Alice will be expecting me. I think I'm actually late. Here, Edward." Jasper shoved his bag at me and basically ran out of the door, causing all of us to crack up, even Emmett.

"What about you, big boy?" Myrtle giggled.

Emmett smiled, using all of his dimples. "As nice as that offer is, I think my mate would be a little upset. Edward, Bella, I'll see you guys later. I'll get started on preparing the skin for your gloves, sis."

"Thanks, Emmett." We both waved to him as he made his way out the door.

"Time for bed for us, baby girl. Kreacher, can you pop us into the Gryffindor Common Room please?" I asked as Isa let out a large yawn that made her eyes water.

"Certainly, Master Edward." Once we were in the common room, he bowed, clicked his fingers, and then left after a whispered, "Goodnight."

I pushed Isa to the stairs, sending her up to get ready for bed, then wrapped her up on my chair when she came back down.

"Don't want to sleep in your bed tonight?"

Isa shook her head and curled into a tight little ball. "That snoring you can hear? Coming from my dorm room. I'll never sleep with that."

I kissed her forehead. "You sleep, sweetheart. I'm gonna put this stuff away in my trunk. I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night." Isa let out a huge yawn, rolled over, and went to sleep.

I laughed as I climbed down into my trunk. It was going to be a pain trying to wake her in the morning.

~*~UHS~*~

I was right; the following morning, waking Isa was an effort in futility. She really didn't want to get up. If it wasn't for the fact that we had to have breakfast before a certain time—even on a Saturday—then I wouldn't have bothered. But it was also good practice for her for when we had to start saying the Animagus chant at sunrise and sunset. In fact, that was the only thing that woke her up enough to get started—that she was going to have to start doing it anyway.

In fact, she was still dragging when we made it down to the Great Hall.

 _Ugh, if this is what it's going to be like getting up at sunrise, I might have to start drinking coffee._ I watched as she took a sip of the one she decided to try that morning, only to see her blanch and push it away. _Nope, guess not. That's disgusting. How does anyone drink that stuff?_

I chuckled, leaning over to kiss her head. "It's an acquired taste, sweet girl. Not everyone drinks it."

Isa shrugged but went back to eating her breakfast.

"What are you guys up to today?" Hermione asked as she plated up some pancakes.

"I'm just going to read," Isa yawned. "I have some books that Alice gave me at Christmas."

I chuckled. "And probably take a nap or two."

"What about you, Edward? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to sit down and study sunrise and sunset times for the next few months. I want to be prepared, and we need to know."

What I said had caught the twins attention. "You guys have already started with your fudge?" Fred whispered.

Isa yawned again, but perked up a little. "We popped ours in before Christmas. We have until the twelfth of this month before we take it out. Oh, that reminds me; I'm not reading. I've got something else to do today."

Isa's mind was always stunning to me, but when she put her mind to something, she went with it full tilt. And what she had planned for her friends was nothing short of amazing. That was, of course, on top of making them the gauntlets when the leather was ready.

"When are you hoping to transform?" George asked the follow up question.

I looked over at them because they were the ones who had seemed to be the most interested. "Before the end of the school year. We just need the weather to co-operate, but we have Alice keeping an eye out for us, on top of everything. Hopefully, we'll get a storm that will cover home because that's where we're going to have to go. What have you guys decided to do?"

Fred and George looked at each other before George answered. "We haven't really decided yet, but soon. Is the twelfth the next full moon cycle?"

"It's part of it." I nodded. "While I'm researching sun-up and sunset times, I can write down the next few month's cycles, if you want?"

"Thanks, Edward, that will be good," they both replied.

I nodded, then finished my breakfast and the goblet of dragon blood that Kreacher had provided. It was my usual Saturday morning staple. I didn't want to become aggressive because I wasn't feeding that side of myself. Once we were finished, we all went our separate ways. Hermione and Luna followed Harry and Neville to the library, while the twins were going to catch up with some of their friends. Isa and I made our way back to Gryffindor Tower. I was going to work in my trunk while Isa sat and worked at my desk.

"Hey, Teddy?" Isa called just before I made my way into my trunk.

"Yes?"

"Do you have the Floo-2-U catalogue in there?"

I frowned but started climbing down the ladder. "Yeah, do you want it?"

"Please?"

"I'll find it and place it on the table down here. Why don't you practice the summoning charm to get it?"

"Oh! That's a good idea." Isa leaned down and kissed my head before it disappeared from view. "Just let me know when you've found it!"

"I will." I climbed the rest of the way down and looked around my portable lab, I guess you'd call it. It's funny; I'd gone through medical school a few times during my time in the muggle world, but I'd never, ever thought about heading into the lab after I'd finished. But being here in my own made me realize that I loved the thought of creating, researching, and finding ways to help. Maybe I could also teach one day. There were so many opportunities open to me now.

I found the catalogue and placed it on the table near the ladder, calling up to Isa that it was ready for her. I heard the release of her wand then her call out, "Accio Floo-2-U catalogue."

It looked like the perfect spell because the book immediately flew up and out through the opening in my trunk. With a "Thank you, Teddy," Isa sat down at my desk and started flipping through pages.

I shook my head, chuckled, and then walked to where I had my paperwork strewn out. Figuring out sunrise and sunset was a lot harder when I couldn't turn to Google to get the information I needed. I had to turn to what I had learned so far in my astronomy classes to work it all out.

Isa and I were both quiet as people came and went all morning long. Not many of them paid attention to us; they'd gotten used to the lid of my trunk being up and Isa sitting at my table. Although, many of them wondered where I had gotten to, they didn't realize that I was right there, listening to what was going on. As such, I was listening to everything going on when Crookshanks barreled into the common room fast on the tail of Scabbers.

 _Gotta get rat … rat not rat … rat dangerous … protect, protect, protect …_

"Whoa, Crookshanks!" Isa scrambled after the fluffy cat. "What are you doing? Ron will have kittens if he finds you chasing his rat!"

"Wait, Isa!" I pretty much flew out of my trunk. That wasn't the first time I'd heard Crookshanks say something like that. "Don't let Crookshanks go!"

"What's going on?" Isa spun around with Hermione's cat in her arms.

"What do you mean, Crookshanks? How is that rat not a rat?"

Isa gasped, but it was Crookshanks thoughts I tuned into. _Rat not rat … feel aura … it not good … must protect family._

Crookshanks thoughts didn't seem to be as fully developed as say Athan's, probably because he hadn't had to think outside his instincts before.

 _Doesn't smell rat … behaves wrong … rat not rat … protect, protect, protect._

"Okay, Crookshanks, okay," I crooned, reaching over and scratching him under the chin. "Calm down. I need you to do something for me. Stop trying to eat Scabbers." Isa snorted. "Try, I said. But keep an eye on him for me; let me know what he gets up to. Can you do that?"

 _Crookshanks help … follow rat._ Crookshanks purred at Isa's scratch behind his ears.

"Thank you, Crookshanks. Let me know what he gets up to." I gave him one last scratch before Isa popped him back on the floor. We both watched as he sauntered over to where Scabbers had run and begin sniffing around. It didn't take long before he was off on his mission.

"What was that about?" Isa asked when Crookshanks was out of sight.

"Crookshanks doesn't think Scabbers is Scabbers," I whispered in her ear. Like I told Emmett and Jasper last night, the walls in this place had ears, and they listened carefully. "And I'm beginning to wonder as well."

 _Who?_ I looked pointedly at Isa; surely she could figure this out. _You think he's Pettigrew, don't you? That's why you think we can't find him in the tower or anywhere else when we go chasing him, isn't it?_

"I do think so. But only time will tell."

 _Then I guess we have some work to get done. I want to be an Animagus before we have to confront that weasel._

"Uh, a rat, Isa, but that sounds like a plan."

~*~UHS~*~

It took the better part of a week for Isa and me to get our respective things together. By Wednesday, mine was pretty much done, and Isa was waiting on a few deliveries to come through so she could put hers together. One of the items she needed was a little harder to source than the others.

Thursday afternoon, we were working, again, in the Common Room. Isa at my desk and me inside my trunk. "Teddy!" Isa called from the Common Room. "Everything's finally here. Come look!"

"How did you get it this afternoon? Through the fireplace?"

Isa giggled. "No. According to the owls that Mrs. Paula and Lulu sent, the floo network is shut down for cleaning and repairs, so they sent them with some owls they own. They just flew through the window."

I climbed out of my trunk and found that we were the only ones there. Everyone else was out studying in the library and other various places. The other thing I found was Isa sitting next to a pile of black boxes wrapped with white twine.

"What's all this? Are you finally going to explain what your idea was about? All I saw was a box filled with bottles and jars."

"There are so many students out there who have been discouraged from following their dreams of becoming an Animagus because we are only taught the theory behind it. Not many of them take it further than that and learn all that's involved or source ways to do it. Not like we did." She looked at me, and I nodded to show that I was following along. "For now, what I've done is created Animagus kits for our friends. But I was thinking long term, like when we open the newspaper, we could, possibly, sell them through the store."

I looked around at everything. "Show me what you've got and how we'd go about this for the greater population."

I stood behind Isa as she grabbed one of the boxes from the pile. "If I were putting this together for the 'greater population,' as you call it, I would start with this box. As you can see, it's lined with foam sections, and it has a rubber seal around the top, so when closed, it's completely black inside."

"Which is needed as part of the potion progress."

"Exactly!" Isa exclaimed. "This box, though, would essentially be sold with all the things needed to become an Animagus. On the top part of the box, kept in this protective sleeve, is the parchment with all the instructions on it. Including a 'Before you begin' section telling them to research the full Moon cycles and sunup and sunset times for the time frame they plan to try." Isa pointed to a parchment she had off to the side, which she had written in her beautiful script and decorated with a Snow Leopard silhouette. "In this part here," she pointed to a small square, "is where the fudge would be kept, wrapped in some other decorated paper. This next small spot is for this bottle."

Isa reached over the box and grabbed a small black bottle with a cork. "Thanks to Alice, we have a meadow that's not been touched by humans now, if ever, so I thought we could add the spoonful of dew to a small bottle like this and place it in the box." She demonstrated by placing the bottle in the box. "The medium-sized place is for a small block of never melting ice and the Death's-Head Moth chrysalis and then the largest one is for the crystal vial needed to pull the potion all together." Isa looked up at me to get my reaction.

"This is a brilliant idea." I tapped the box sitting on the table. "If this was to become something we decided to sell, how would you keep in stock of everything needed?"

"I thought of that. I was thinking that if we made deals with the suppliers, say Mr. Wiseacre, Mrs. Lulu, Paula, and of course Mr. Drenior, everyone would get a percentage from the sales so we are always in stock. Although, if we only make so many per year, then it might be a better option. Kinda like Molly's jumpers."

I nodded along with her thoughts before voicing my own. "The other option is to have them as mail order." At Isa's confused look, I explained. "Like Lulu and Paula, we would sell them via order. An advertisement in the paper is a good way to do that. They write to us, and we send them out. That way, we could keep so many on hand and make more when needed. It's not like we need the money; we could sell them at cost so they aren't out of the realm of possibility for the average witch or wizard."

"Or for a student saving up to buy them. Although …" She sighed

"Exactly. But having a deal in place with suppliers isn't a bad idea either. Say if Mr. Wiseacre came into a large shipment of either the black bottles or the crystal vials, he'd come to us first before selling them in his store. Or if Mrs. Lulu and Paula …"

"Got more of the boxes, they'd seek us out first," Isa finished. "It's not something we need to do right now, but definitely a thought for later."

"Now, why the sigh?"

"I would love a wooden box, completely lockable, and all decorated with animals burned into it. But I think that would be too expensive for the average witch or wizard."

"It's something we think about and figure out as we go along. Now, much like your gloves, it's not something we need to worry about. Our friends need those gauntlets, yes, but others might want some after the war too. The leather is something we'll have to think about too because the basilisk skin isn't going to last forever. Something else to worry about later. We could advertise the gauntlets through the newspaper. But those would be made only after they've been ordered, like Molly's jumpers."

Isa leaned up and kissed my cheek. "I'm so glad you're supportive of my ideas."

"They are brilliant idea's, sweetheart. You're going to make this world a better place." I kiss the top of her head before standing straight.

"You are too, Teddy. Did you get yours done?"

"Yup. We're all set for the next few months of early mornings."

Isa fist pumped limply. "Yay. Because I love early mornings."

I snickered. "I know you do. Here, let me help you put these together for everyone. I've got some time."

"Thanks, Teddy."

~*~UHS~*~

Monday morning came around with an air of excitement, or maybe that was just how Isa and I were feeling. It was the twelfth of January, and we'd had our Mandrake Chocolate Fudge in our mouths for a month. It was the full moon, and tonight, we were sneaking out of Hogwarts—with Kreacher's help—to go home and start our potion. We'd had more confirmation from Alice in the form of a letter arriving the day before at breakfast that it would be a clear night.

If it wasn't for our ever-expansive brains being able to keep track of what was going on around us, we would have been absolutely useless in every single one of our lessons.

By the time dinner rolled around, we were both jittery with anticipation. We almost couldn't sit still.

"So, tonight's the night?" Hermione whispered, leaning over to Isa when we sat down at the long dinner tables.

"Yup!" Isa nodded while she bounced.

Harry chuckled. "If you keep it up, the teachers will know you're up to something. You've only got a few more hours to get through."

I snorted. "Oh, they already suspect something but don't know what it is. Because I haven't been able to focus much either."

Fred was next. "I'm sure we won't be much better when the time comes."

"So you're planning on doing it then?" Neville asked from the other side of George.

"We are." George faced him. "In fact, thanks to Edward, we're going to pop ours in tonight."

"Don't forget Isa," Fred continued. "She gave us everything else we needed with the kits."

"Good luck!" Isa bounced again, trying to grab some of the food on the table but making a mess because she was bouncing so hard.

"You really need to settle, my sweet girl. Otherwise, none of this delicious food is going to make it anywhere near your mouth; it'll end up in your lap." I chuckled, making up a plate for her.

Isa laughed at herself. "I know. I'm just so excited!"

We laughed but tucked into our food, with Isa only spilling minimal food on her clothes because she just couldn't sit still no matter how hard she tried. I must admit, it was one of those times I was glad for being a vampire because it afforded me the ability to be able to sit still and enjoy my dinner. Our conversation didn't stray back to becoming an Animagus in case someone overheard more than they should have.

With that thought, my head shot up to look at the teachers' table. Our family would have been able to hear all that we had been discussing. They knew it was our desire to become them but not quite so soon. The one I worried about was Esme; she was a stickler for the rules, and she'd want us to report our transformation to the Ministry. But what I found was only one vampire sitting at the table—Jasper.

 _Esme left after lessons. She's trying to talk through things with Carlisle. I won't say anything. Advantages are always a good thing._ Jasper winked my way all while maintaining his conversation with Hagrid.

I nodded before looking back around at our table. Nobody had seen my interaction with Jasper, not even Isa; she was still vibrating next to me. I decided it was time to get us out of the Great Hall before she became too much more noticeable.

I stood before holding my hand out to her. "C'mon, my sweet girl, let's just get lost in the castle for a while. You're far too happy about dinner, and people are starting to notice."

Isa's beautiful peal of laughter paused the talking happening around us for a few seconds while she stood and laced her fingers with mine. "Lead the way, dashing knight. Let's get lost!"

For a while, that was exactly what we did. We wandered all over the castle, exploring all sorts of corridors and rooms. There was so much to this castle that we could discover; who wouldn't want to spend time doing just that. We talked, laughed, and just joked around because, for once, we weren't bogged down in homework. Sure, we had some to do, but we were ahead of the curve thanks to reading ahead a year, so we were just waiting on assignments to complete. If we kept out in front as much as we were, it might be best to talk to Professor Dumbledore about getting the assignments for next year as well.

I'd give Isa at least this year before we took that route. I wanted her to enjoy her schooling.

Eventually, though, night fell, and we had to return to the Common Room. It was just a waiting game after that. One that Isa was failing spectacularly at. I couldn't help but chuckle at her while she tried to read and sit still; it was an exercise in futility.

Once everyone had said their goodnights and made their way up to bed, Isa couldn't sit still any longer. She was up and pacing around the room while we waited for Kreacher. In fact, she almost crash-tackled him when he popped into the room.

"Kreacher! Thank, Merlin! What took you so long?" she asked after he'd helped to steady her.

Kreacher looked confused. "Kreacher is here at the time agreed upon."

"Don't worry about it, Kreacher. Isa's anxious to get started; she's been in a hurry all day." I smiled as I stood and made my way over to where they were both standing. "We're both ready to go, if you are."

Kreacher nodded and held out his hand to Isa, who grabbed it, then grabbed a hold of mine. We both braced ourselves when Kreacher held up his hand and clicked his fingers. One minute we were in the Gryffindor Common Room; the next, we were standing in the backyard of Swan Manor where Alice was waiting for us.

 _The boys are keeping Esme busy. They're hoping to be able to hide your trip here from her, but considering you're going to have to go inside shortly, I'm not entirely positive you will. I've seen both happening._

I looked over to Alice before whispering my question. "Who will she go to if she sees us?"

 _Professor McGonagall._ Alice smirked. _Minerva will tell her that, for now, it's imperative that she keeps it quiet. That regardless of the rules, your Animagus forms must be kept top secret because it will give us an advantage over what is coming._

I nodded before I pointed Alice out to Isa, who quietly ran over and gave her a hug hello. Once they pulled out of their hug, Alice led Isa to the table on the back deck where she had set out our crystal vials and other ingredients.

"Thank you, Alice," I whispered again.

 _You're welcome. I can't wait to see you guys when you change._

"We can't wait either."

Alice smiled, then made her way back indoors. She was going to try and help to distract Esme. Her visions still weren't a hundred percent either way, but she was going to stop watching them and just wait and see what would happen.

"Ready, beautiful?"

Isa smiled up at me. "Ready! You start since you have the extra ingredient."

"Okay." I pulled the bottle out of my pocket. It was the one ingredient I hadn't left at home, for no other reason than I didn't bring it with me. Inside was a teaspoon full of werewolf blood. If it wasn't for this, my whole potion would go "poof" the minute my fudge was introduced.

I poured the werewolf blood into my vial, looked at Isa, and then at the same time, we both pulled the fudge from the roof of our mouths. I looked at mine quickly before I put it inside my vial, looking up to see Isa doing the same. We then quickly added one of our own hairs—carefully removed at an earlier date—the silver teaspoon of dew, and the Death's-Head Moth. Once that was done, we both replaced the lids and let out a breath; we'd completed our potion. The only thing left to do was to place them into a dark, dry place.

"Time to head inside, Teddy."

"Let's go, sweet girl."

I looked around for Kreacher, only to realize he'd gone inside at some point because we were alone in the backyard. I held my hand out for Isa, then led her inside through the kitchen, down the hall, and then into the library. We managed to make it that far without running into anyone; it seemed the others had been able to keep Esme busy, at least for now.

Isa opened the bookcase that revealed the potions room before letting go of my hand and moving the table that covered the trapdoor. We both stood on the elevator, but I could tell the adrenaline from the day was starting to wear off as Isa leaned against me. But she stood upright once we reached the bottom.

"This way, Teddy," she murmured while leading me over to the opposite side of the room and pushing what seemed to be an innocuous piece of the wall, only for it to release a hiss as the door swung backward. Isa walked toward a cupboard that had been placed opposite the mirror and the mirrorsieve and opened the door. "When we decided to try this, and I read the instructions, I decided this might be the best option, at that time. This cupboard will be completely blacked out once the door is closed, plus we'll magically seal it. Not that I think anyone will try to open it."

The more Isa spoke the more slurred her words became; her adrenaline was draining fast. I walked up behind her and placed my bottle just as she had done. The minute she'd closed and locked the cupboard, Isa fainted dead away. She fell so fast I almost didn't catch her in time. Her sleeplessness and adrenaline crash had finally caught up with her, and she was asleep the minute her eyes had closed. I picked her up and made my way out of her laboratory after closing the hidden door, then the trap door, before making my way into the library where I finally ran into Esme.

"Oh, the poor dear. Guess she ran flat, huh?"

I snickered. "Yeah, she's been running on nothing but adrenaline all day. I need to get her back to Hogwarts."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night?"

Carlisle walked by the library door, peering in and not hiding the fact that he was curious about what was going on.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I can't. Not yet. Thank you, though."

"You're welcome, Edward. This will always be your home no matter what happens. Take care." Esme reached up and placed a kiss on my cheek, then one on the top of Isa's head, running her hand over her hair. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

I nodded before making my way toward the kitchen to find Kreacher. He was just doing some general tidying up while he waited for us to be ready. As much as he loved working at Hogwarts with us, he also missed home and felt things were always rearranged while he was away. He hated it.

I chuckled as I walked through the door. "Ready, Kreacher?"

He huffed but turned to face me. "Kreacher is ready, Master Edward. Are you?"

I nodded, then walked around to his side. "I'm afraid Isa's fallen asleep on me. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No. Kreacher will still be able to get you to Hogwarts." With that, he reached up, placed his hand on my arm, and clicked the fingers on his other hand. Traveling by house elf was really fast; one minute, I'm looking at the kitchen in Swan Manor, and with a blink, we were back in the Common Room of Gryffindor Tower.

"Thank you, Kreacher. Your help was invaluable, as always."

Kreacher bowed. "It's an honor to serve the house of Swan and Masen." With another click of his fingers, he was gone.

I looked down at the sleeping girl in my arms and couldn't help chuckling as I placed her onto my recliner and covered her up with my blankets while laying the chair into the sleeping position. She really was dead to the world. It made me wonder just what I was going to face come morning. I had the alarm on my pocket watch set for half an hour before the sun was set to rise. I had a feeling I was going to need it.

For the rest of the night, I studied my Arithmancy textbook. The subject was truly fascinating, and thanks to it, I had been able to make further work with my potions. Thanks to being able to study it myself, I would be ready to take my final for it sooner rather than later. I was so into my studying that my watch scared the living daylights out of me when it started shouting at me.

" _You're late, slacker! Get off that lazy arse because you're late, you're late, you're very, very late!"_

"Ugh, really, Edward?" Isa mumbled before rolling over, causing me to snicker.

"Hey, it worked! It woke you and scared me."

"Mmhmm."

I laughed out loud this time. It seemed my sweet girl was trying to go back to sleep. "No, no, Isa! You need to wake up!"

"Five more minutes."

"You can't have five more minutes. Because if I give in, then you'll ask for five more, then five more after that. And if I do that, we'll miss the sunrise. You have to wake up!"

"What for?" she growled, rolling back over and glaring at me with one eye in her kitten anger. Tired, angry Isa was so cute. Although, if she ever really released it at me, I probably wouldn't think so.

"For our first incantation, remember? It needs to be said at sunup and sundown every day until the lightning storm."

Isa's eyes had closed while I was talking, and as such, when I mentioned sunup and sundown, they sprung back open before she sat up. "Wait, what? That really happened yesterday?" She looked around, a little disorientated, which caused a chuckle to slip through my lips.

I watched as she looked around to get her bearings. "The last thing I remember was … um … oh! The backyard. We made the potion in the backyard at home! It did happen."

I squatted down in front of her in my chair and reached out for one of her hands. "It did, sweetheart. We went home and made the potions, your adrenaline started to wane once we were done, and you completely passed out on me once we'd placed the vials in the cupboard in your laboratory. Kreacher brought us back afterward."

She flopped back against the chair. "Wow. How long until sunup?" She peered over my shoulder to look out at the lightening sky. I followed her gaze before pulling out my watch and flipping open the lid.

"About fifteen minutes. So if you need to go to the bathroom, or what have you, you should do it now."

"No," Isa whispered. "I'm fine, but I want to watch the sun come up. Either inside or out, it doesn't bother me."

I thought about it quickly. Watching the sunrise from inside would be beautiful, but watching it from the grounds would be even prettier. I spun back to face her. "Run upstairs, change, and clean up as fast as you can. I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs."

"Got it!" Isa smiled, kissed my cheek, then stood and bolted for the stairs. I did the same things that I told her. Quickly changed my clothes, straightened up, and grabbed a couple spare blankets from my trunk, as well as an extra warm jacket in case Isa got cold. Then I walked to the bottom of the stairs when she started back down.

"Ready, monkey?"

"Ready!"

I bobbed down in front of her, letting her climb up onto my back. "Hold on tight!"

Isa giggled as I took off. Sir Cadogan had obviously been listening, and he had swung open the minute I told Isa to hold on.

"Run steady, stead! She needs to have a bump-free ride!" he shouted as we ran past.

"He's always a good horsey!" Isa replied on another giggle, making me laugh.

We flew out the door and down the moving staircases. I made Isa squeal with scared excitement when I had to make a leap from one set of staircases to another because they moved at the wrong time. We made it down and out the large doors in the foyer with several minutes to spare. I was even able to set up the blankets, sit us down on them, and wrap Isa in the jacket, all before the sun started to peak above the horizon.

Once it started that trek, Isa and I released our wands and held the tips over our hearts. Together, we recited our individual incantations.

Isa with: "Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

And mine: "Amato Animo Animato Animagus, Animagus Vitea."

I had read the instructions, and knew, eventually, there might come a time I would feel a phantom heartbeat inside my chest. But what surprised me was the fact that I felt a faint _th-thump_. It was tiny, and if Isa and I hadn't been completely quiet and not doing anything, I might have brushed it off; but as it was, I couldn't do that.

"Whoa," I mumbled, placing my hand over where my heart lay.

Isa spun to look at me. "What?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Remember the heartbeat they said we might feel later?" She nodded to my question. "I'm pretty sure I just felt the faintest of one. I didn't know I'd feel that so soon."

Isa laid her hand over my heart, looking up at me with a stunningly beautiful expression. "Maybe it's because you don't have one normally," she whispered. "Maybe one day, I'll even get to hear it beat." She finished almost wistfully.

I placed my hand over hers before pulling it to my lips for a quick kiss. "Beating or not, my heart is yours."

"And mine is yours." Isa sat up, reached her face up, and planted a soft kiss right on the corner of my mouth. "I'll always be yours."

"And I, yours."

~*~UHS~*~

The next few weeks were quiet around the castle. There were no out of place thoughts, no sightings, and even Crookshanks had nothing new to report. Scabbers had been quiet. He'd been in hiding in Ron's dorm room.

Students were studying, cramming, and cringing away from the dementors that loomed over the castle grounds like waifs—scary waifs, but waifs none-the-less.

Even with Sirius, James, and Emmett patrolling the grounds as often as they could, there was still no sight of Lestrange. It was frustrating, to say the least, and not only to me. It was a bone of contention among our friends.

So much so we were thrown out of the library when one our discussions had become too loud. It was still happening as we walked out onto the grounds.

"Considering how long it's been since there was a sighting, who's to say he's even coming here to Hogwarts anymore?" Fred growled out.

George continued. "He might have seen the dementors and decided to quit before he could be recaptured."

"But considering he's already escaped them before, why would that deter him?" Neville argued. "He's a huge Voldemort supporter; I don't think he's going to give up whatever his goal is!"

"And what do you think that goal is, Neville?" Isa piped up. She was in agreement with Neville but wanted everyone to have a clear understanding.

"He thinks Lestrange's goal is to come after him and me, and I happen to agree with him," Harry whispered, bringing the conversation to a quiet halt. Hermione and Luna—who had been with us at the time—gasped quietly.

Luna asked the follow up question. "Why do you think that?"

"That's obvious. Well, it should be," I began. "Both Neville and Harry were attacked on the night Voldemort disappeared." Our casual use of Tom Riddle's preferred name still had an effect on the Weasley twins. I really wished they would get over it; fear of his name would only lead to fearing the person himself. "One survived while the other did not. Or so they thought. With Harry's reappearing act, and Neville still alive, it means there's revenge to be had. The death eaters that are still out there, that were never caught …"

"Are cowards," Isa piped in.

"Have been in hiding," I continued. "And in all this time have never done a damn thing to rid the world of 'The Chosen One.' Or who the death eaters thought was the chosen one. And with Harry's reappearance, it gives new hope that Voldemort isn't dead."

"So, by your definition, they think by ridding the world of Harry and/or Neville, it could bring back their dark lord and return the wizarding world to their idea of glory?" Hermione surmised.

"Or," Isa held up a finger, "they might think they need Harry and/or Neville to bring back Voldemort. And by capturing them, they can do just that."

Fred argued his point once again. "But that still doesn't answer the question of 'Why hasn't he made a move since he was spotted in Dufftown?' There's been ample opportunity. Every time we go to Hogsmeade or walking too close to the Forbidden Forest. Why? I don't think he's coming here. So why are the dementors still around?"

"Because it's better to have them here and not need them than to need them and not have them," I answered. "But it doesn't matter. Because Neville is right. He's made it past them once before. Who's to say he can't do it again?"

Everyone fell quiet after that, thinking about what could happen. They were all wondering where Rabastan Lestrange had gotten to, where he was hiding, and more importantly, what he was after. I didn't doubt for one moment that if he could get his hands on either Neville or Harry, that he would hesitate. It's what I would have done had I been a death eater.

From the research I'd been able to do into Voldemort and his followers, they were very much like the cults I'd seen in the muggle world. They all followed the leader's word, almost blindly sometimes, without question. They would do unspeakable things to their fellow witch or wizard on his whim, sometimes even without a word from him. It made me wonder why? Was it the promise of riches that made them follow? Or power?

Cults were never something I understood. Or the hunt for power over everyone else in the world? Why would you want that responsibility?

I was wrenched from my thoughts by a rather loud animalistic screech, a growl, and Ron yelling at Crookshanks.

"You stupid cat! Stay away from my rat!" The three of them barreled out of the castle, one after the other.

Isa and I watched with rapt attention as Scabbers launched himself out the doors and started to run in our direction before he seemed to notice our group. He slowed, and almost stopped, before remembering he was being chased and ran around us instead.

 _That was interesting,_ Isa thought, watching the rat, who was looking worse for wear these days. _It was almost as if he didn't want to come anywhere near us._

Crookshanks didn't bother to take the longer path and went to propel himself between all of us, but Hermione reached out to grab the fluffy, wayward animal. Once Scabbers realized he was no longer being chased, he slowed to a stop and almost collapsed because of how fatigued he was.

"You keep that bloody, great big furball away from my rat, Hermione!" Ron bellowed as he walked over to where Scabbers had fallen.

"He's only doing what cats are supposed to do, Ronald. Chase rodents!"

"I don't care. He's my pet and allowed at this school. Put a leash on it, or I will."

I held Hermione's shoulder when she went to grab onto her wand, shaking my head when she looked at me. "Not worth it," I whispered. "Besides, he's doing what I asked of him."

Ron was still ranting, not noticing that he had drawn a crowd, but it gave me an opportunity to read what was going on.

"Crookshanks, anything new?"

 _Not rat … smell like mama … not like you … bad rat._

I reached over and scratched behind his ears in thanks. "You've done good. Thank you." The purr Crookshanks let loose would have been comical if anyone else had heard it besides Isa, Hermione, and me.

By this time, Ron had finished his rant. He was breathing heavily but soothing Scabbers with soft touches. I had to give him credit; as much as he hated hand-me-downs, he loved that rat. If it was a rat.

And I was really starting to believe he wasn't. Especially considering the parting thoughts I heard as Ron walked away. Because it definitely was not Ron's "voice" that thought it.

 _That was too close. Can't let the mind reader get close. He'll learn too much because I'm tired. Too tired to keep this up for too much longer._

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmm so the rat is not a rat? Is Edward right, is it Peter Pettigrew? Or is it someone else?**

 **See you all in a fortnight!**


	12. Chapter Eleven - Change is here

**Hello all, and welcome to posting day! I hope you have all had a good fortnight, and things are going well for you all. This chapter is one you have all been looking forward to, and I cannot wait to see your responses.**

 **My thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson for all their hard work. I would be absolutely nowhere without them, and this story would not look as good as it does. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the both of you.**

 **Harry Potter and Twilight belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer respectively. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See me at the bottom, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven – Change is here**

 _Where are they going this time?_

 _What are they doing every night during dinner?_

 _Why is it they are able to leave the Great Hall all the time? Are we allowed to leave during dinner?_

These thoughts were becoming more and more popular the more nights Isa and I walked out of the hall and into the sunset to say our Animagus spell. The ones in the mornings were easier to hide because we were up long before everyone else.

"They're starting to notice a pattern, aren't they?" Isa whispered, holding my hand and leading me out the door to the grass area.

"They have been, yes. The more times we escape, the more they notice."

"Is it the Slytherins?"

"Not just them. It's everyone, across all the houses. It won't be long until someone tries to follow us to find out."

"If that happens we'll just have to hide away from the door. It's not like we can't move fast enough to be away from here before they even exit the door."

I nodded, because she was right. It was coming up on the end of February, and we had been repeating our incantation at sunup and sunset for that whole time. To start with, Isa struggled with the earlier mornings and had to have short naps in the afternoon, after classes, to replenish her energy—much like before when she was using her Occlumency to keep her thoughts shielded. But slowly, as she grew used to getting up earlier, her naps got shorter and further apart. Isa was still having them but only a couple times a week, and it helped that our weekends were usually quiet. Instead of going to Hogsmeade every other weekend, we decided that once a month was enough. Though it was always good to get out of the castle to avoid getting cabin fever.

Once Isa and I had repeated the spell, we both trudged back into the Great Hall to finish our dinner amid thoughts of what we were up to. Maybe one day, they'd find out.

Our little group was laughing and carrying on as we made our way out of the Great Hall after dinner when I heard my name being called.

"Edward! Bella! Can you wait a minute please?" Our group spun around to find Professor Lupin trailing after us.

I looked back at everyone else who had stopped to wait for us. "Go on, guys; we'll catch up with you."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"They aren't in trouble, guys. I just need to talk to them real quick. They won't be long," Remus reassured them.

Everyone nodded before departing, leaving us with Remus.

"Follow me, please?" Remus turned to walk toward his classroom, Isa and I following along behind him. What I noticed was that he had his Occlumency firmly in place, but the way he moved screamed excitement. I didn't know what could be causing it, but I knew whatever he had to tell us was going to be good. "Come in, come in!" he said excitedly when we reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"What's going on, Remus?"

"Help me move these tables and chairs out of the way; I have something I want to show you."

Isa giggled at his happiness but flicked her arm to release her wand when I did and helped move the tables and chairs out of the way. "You could have done that yourself, Professor."

"I know." Remus laughed. "But there's always time for practice. Anyway, before I show you, Edward, your potion worked! I didn't transform on the full moon last month or this one, and I took the potion both times. But look what I did discover; stand back, stand back." He motioned with his hands for Isa and me to take a few steps backward.

"Why are we moving backward?" I asked when we'd moved to the position he wanted us in.

"Just watch!" Remus threw his hands up in the air, then let out a small howl before the air around him started to shimmer. Then his body started to shift and morph before he fell to all fours. Eventually, a large, pure white wolf stood in front of us. He was tall, my head only coming up to his shoulder when I walked up next to him.

"Oh, you're so pretty," Isa whispered, walking up from the other side, running her hand over Professor Lupin's shaggy coat, and making him chuckle a doggy laugh. "I'm sorry." She pulled her hand back.

I chuckled. "It's okay, Isa. You just tickled him, that's all."

"Oh." Isa giggled. "You remind me of my puppies at home, only bigger and shaggier. Are wolves usually this big?"

"No. He's more like the size of the Quileute shape-shifters from back in the States."

Isa nodded. "You told me about them. They get this big?"

Lupin nudged Isa and me out of the way before transforming back to himself. "Sorry," he laughed. "I wanted to be part of the conversation. And yes, Isa, they do get that big. Some were even bigger!"

"Wow! I wish I'd seen them when we were there."

I laughed at her thoughts. "They weren't pets; they were people!"

"I know!" Isa giggled again. "But I could have ridden one."

"You have unicorns at home, maybe ask them. Plus, we have brooms to ride, too, and they go higher." I turned to face Remus. "But this is awesome. I can't believe it worked like it did."

"We're nowhere near the full moon. Edward, you've helped me become an Animagus. This potion is going to change the world for a lot of werewolves out there." Usually Remus was not one for displays of affection, but he was so happy, so overwhelmed with the fact that he was no longer a werewolf, that he pulled me into a hug—which had I been human would have crushed me. I was only too happy to return it.

"I made this potion for you, Remus. But I agree that the stigma around werewolves has to stop; if my potion helps, then I'm all for it. It needs some adjustments, but I'm so happy it works."

"You let me know when it's ready, then I want to be the one to promote it. I'll be the one who gets it out there." Remus had stepped back and placed his hands on my shoulders. I could see this meant a lot to him.

"Good! Because I have no idea what I'm doing!" I laughed. "I have no idea how to do something like that in this world. But I'm not sure my potion should be the only one you sell, Remus. The ones you made for us are worth selling too."

Remus laughed. "I remember Paula and Lulu saying something to that effect. Maybe it's time for my own shop? After teaching, of course."

"We need to thoroughly test it first. Besides, I have something else in mind."

"No giving it away, Teddy!" Isa laughed. "We have to sort it all out first!"

Remus and I laughed at Isa's admonishment. But I held up my hands, placating her. "Okay, okay. No more until we've got it all sorted. We'll have to get on that."

Isa snorts. "Just add it to the never-ending 'To Do' list we've got going on. But I've got an idea for that one. Give me some time." She turned to Remus. "Congratulations, Professor Lupin; I'm so happy for you! Are you going to register?"

"No. At least, not yet anyway. Like you two keeping your transformation secret, I'm going to do the same." Remus sat in one of the chairs that he floated back over.

Isa frowned. "But what about the stigma you deal with on a daily basis? You could get rid of it just by telling people!"

I pulled Isa to me as I took a seat on another chair. "Because the potion isn't ready, for one." I hugged her pouting form to me. "And we need …"

"All the advantage we can get," Isa grumbled. "I know. It just doesn't seem fair. He's dealt with being ostracized all his life! He doesn't need to anymore!"

"You're right, Bella; I don't. But what if Voldemort attacks during the day? My form could be a surprise. What if it's at night but not in the full moon cycle?"

"Pfft. And with other dangerous werewolves on his side, do you think he's not going to take that into consideration."

I thought of Isa's words as I pulled her onto my lap. "I'm sure he will, my girl, but there's no need to worry about it right now. Remus has made his decision, and we need to respect that, even if we don't agree with it."

She spun toward me, glaring in my direction. "Do you? Agree with it?"

I looked up at Remus, who nodded, then I looked back at Isa. "I do, Isa. We've all said it; you even said it earlier. Anything that gives us an advantage over Voldemort is a good thing. And I know it's not fair, just like it's not fair for Draco and Narcissa to be in the position they're in, but they're making their own decisions. It's not our place to force our beliefs on them, as much as we want to."

 _That's not fair._ Isa thought, crossing her arms. _But you're right, as much as I don't want you to be._

I laughed. "Don't worry. I'm sure there will be plenty of times where I'm wrong."

"You do have an eternity to get things wrong." It was Remus's turn to laugh. "But you guys had better get going before the others start coming to look for you."

We said our goodbyes and started back toward Gryffindor Tower. Isa was quiet, her mind running a mile a minute. The amount of ideas she had flowing through her mind was incredible; I had no idea how I was ever going to keep up with her. Although I knew I didn't have to; she would love any and all accomplishments that I made. The proof was in the way she wanted Remus to register as soon as possible.

I was quiet, just enjoying listening to all the thoughts she was having, until she stopped on one particular piece of paper. It was a faded gray color, set out like a newspaper would be. It had pictures and words laid out in a much easier to read format than what The Daily Prophet did. But what stuck with me was the first few lines.

She'd called it _The Truth:_ _No Prophecies, just facts_. But it wasn't the only thing that caught my attention; it was who had printed it. _The Masen Consortium of Printing._

"Why Masen and not Cullen?" I blurted out before I'd even thought about it.

Isa faltered in her steps ever so slightly before she continued on. "Because we will both be Masens one day, and this is your brainchild. Not only that; you bought the building as Edward Masen, not Edward Cullen. It should be named after you."

I pulled her to a stop and into my arms, holding her as tight as I could without hurting her. "Thank you, my sweet girl. I think it's brilliant, and the design is … I have no words."

"We can interchange any of the pictures." We started walking while she pulled up the image in her mind. "I'm not sure I like the ones of the Hippogriff. We could change the silhouette to anything you like."

"What do we have with the printing press?"

"We have a Hippogriff—the one I thought about—but we should be able to get anything we like through Diagon Alley. I mean, we have Floo-2-U and Mr. Wiseacre's shop. They should be able to get anything we like. From dragons to snow leopards to sabretooth tigers. We can interchange any of them."

I nodded, swinging our hands playfully between us. "That's good. We'll get that part of it before we open over the summer; otherwise, the layout is all to be organized with the Editor-in-Chief. Which will be whoever we decide it to be."

"Mmhmm. We're going to need to make that choice soon. But it seems you have some work to do then. What do you plan on changing?"

"I have to get some clearer answers from Remus first. He's waaaay too high to even contemplate the answers that I need. Once he calms down, I'll get to work." I also wondered whether I should talk to Opi. He seemed to know that the potion was going to work before I did. _Eh, for now, I'll stick to working with the FIPRA. If I get stuck, then I'll ask Opi._

We were quiet on our way back to the Common Room where our friends were waiting for us, doing their homework. We slotted in with them and got back to it. Finals were going to be upon us before we knew it.

~*~UHS~*~

I was getting beyond frustrated. Crookshanks hadn't had any success in following that stupid, bloody rat at all. It wasn't Crookshanks' fault; Scabbers just proved to be a slippery little bastard. He'd be right on his tail, literally, then he'd just up and disappear.

On top of that, we still hadn't heard any more about Lestrange. Sirius had found some odd trails in the Forbidden Forest on one of his many patrols, but he hadn't been able to identify any scent that went along with it. The reason the trails were odd was because they belonged to a hyena, and they weren't native to Scotland. It made me wonder if the reason they couldn't find Lestrange, or the reason he escaped, was because he could become something they hadn't anticipated.

What if he was an unregistered Animagus? It would certainly explain a lot.

I told Sirius, James, and even Remus—who had joined in on the patrols—to be careful because, as much as we didn't want to believe it, we couldn't rule it out. After all, I was looking at three unregistered Animagi, and I was planning on becoming one of two more.

Who was I to judge?

The one thing I'd had to get used to was the heartbeat when I repeated my Animagus incantation. The more I repeated it, the more often the _tha-thump_ had occurred. It was amazing, scary, and beautiful all at once. I still didn't know what to think of it. I was in awe when it happened, and it had been happening more often as of late. It made me wonder if something was on the horizon.

We were coming up to mid-March when I felt a charge in the air, the kind of charge usually accompanied a major electrical storm. It seemed even Isa felt the difference when she woke up because she was excited but focused. She was even up before my alarm had gone off.

We'd completed our incantations and were standing quietly, watching the sun's ascent into the sky, when Isa broke the contemplative silence we had fallen into. "Something will happen today, Teddy. Something is different; it's been building."

I looked out over the, admittedly, darker than normal morning sky and nodded into her hair. "I feel it too. It's sparking all over my skin."

"Mmhmm," Isa hummed. "I think Alice's owl will be visiting us this morning. We need to prepare Kreacher."

"We will, after we receive the owl. Make sure that it's actually happening before we tell him."

Isa turned, kissed my cheek, and looked up into my eyes. "I'm going to go get ready. Breakfast will be soon."

"Love you, beautiful."

"You too, Teddy."

I did the same thing. Had a shower and dressed in my uniform, placed my gauntlets on my arms, and loaded my wand, ready for whatever the day might bring.

I hadn't been back in the Common Room long when Isa and the others entered, all saying their quiet good mornings before making their way out through the painting. Isa smiled at me when I held out my hand. She wrapped herself around my arm before linking our hands, and then we followed along behind. The day was certainly going to be interesting.

I wasn't wrong. And it did start at breakfast.

We'd been sitting at breakfast for only a short time when the mail owls started arriving, including Athan. He was carrying a small envelope, and I could see it was addressed in Alice's handwriting before he started his descent to drop it off. I looked over at Isa, who had an eyebrow raised at me, causing me to chuckle.

"There's an 'I told you so' in that look." I tickled her side, which made her squeal—loudly—catching the attention of our friends.

"What are you doing, Edward?" Hermione asked with a small smile.

"I'm not doing anything. See!" I held my hands aloft, trying to prove my innocence.

Athan seemed to huff as he landed, giving me the evil eye. _You liar._ He flicked me with his wing as he spun and held his leg out to Isa. _What are you doing to Bella?_

I laughed. "I'm tickling her, Athan. Why are you in such a mood this morning?" I ran my fingers down his feathers, relaxing him.

 _Sorry. There's something about you two today. I gotta go._

I frowned as Athan took off without as much as a goodbye. He was usually much friendlier than that. "Wonder what that was about."

Isa shrugged but ripped open the envelope. "It is from Alice. She said there will be an electrical storm today that will roll from north to south. It'll start here over Hogwarts and eventually cover home. She said the best time to be there would be after dinner; we'd be able to watch it rolling in." Isa snorted before she looked up to me. "She also said to remember to say the incantation at sunset because it will be darker than normal and earlier too."

"Good thing I have my watch to remind me then," I said while setting the reminder.

 _Mmhmm, good thing,_ Isa mumbled in her thoughts, taking her first bite of breakfast. _I feel so much hungrier today. Something is definitely up._

Now that she'd mentioned it, my stomach was rumbling louder than normal. I'd piled my plate with more food than I normally did, surprising not only myself, but our friends as well.

"Got enough there, Edward?" Harry and Neville laughed.

"Nah, I might try to out eat Emmett today," I teased, knowing Emmett was already here and having his second breakfast.

 _Pfft, in your dreams,_ he thought while shoveling some eggs in his mouth. _You'll never eat as much as I can._

Isa giggled. "I think if you tried to eat that much, even you would be sick."

"Maybe. I think I need some dragon's blood today. Which is weird because I only need that once a week."

I'd barely finished speaking when Kreacher popped into the Great Hall carrying the goblet I usually used when I was drinking my weekly dose of blood.

"That was quick, Kreacher."

"Kreacher had it handy. Today is a different day, and Kreacher thought you might need it."

Isa leaned off the bench, giving him a one-armed hug. "Thank you for always anticipating the things we need, Kreacher. We're going to need your help after dinner."

Kreacher bowed. "Kreacher will be ready." He was gone as fast as he came.

"If he was any quicker at doing that, we wouldn't see him at all," Neville mumbled around some sausage. "Have you ever timed him?"

Isa laughed. "No, Neville. Not at all. Maybe next time, we can try. Now keep your mouth closed while you're chewing."

"Sowwy."

We chuckled before finishing off our breakfasts. Isa and I both ate way more than we were used to eating, and I had to call Kreacher for another goblet of dragon's blood. It was another strange incident to add to an already strange morning.

We managed to make it through most of the rest of the morning without anything out of the ordinary happening, although the teachers were starting to push for us to start preparing for finals, on top of our regular studies. Things were only going to get harder from here on out—that seemed to be a constant motto.

The biggest push to prepare for finals came from our head of house, Professor McGonagall. Which came as no surprise. She wanted to make sure we were prepared for every eventuality and had us turning more inanimate objects into animals and then animals into inanimate objects. This was one of the classes that even I had to take a few tries—still—to get things right. But it was because of that that I enjoyed it so much. Isa and I didn't seem to have a problem with turning the inanimate objects into animals, but it seemed to take so much more concentration to turn the innocent, non-scary hedgehogs into pincushions. Isa more so than me.

"Oh, man!" Isa whined from next to me. "I just can't get this right today. Why am I having so much trouble?"

I looked over to see that her pincushion, while looking like a hedgehog-shaped pincushion, had the pins facing the wrong way. The pointy ends were sticking out instead of the colored knobs.

I snorted. "You aren't the only one. I can't get my head to face the right direction." My poor hedgehog pincushion had his head on upside down. "Whatever is happening today is making our magic wonky."

Isa had just opened her mouth to say something when there was a "woohoo" from the other end of our table. We both turned to see Neville with his hands in the air like he'd caught the snitch in the latest quidditch game.

"I got a hedgehog pincushion! And it's not orange!"

I chuckled at his excitement. He'd been having trouble getting his colors right lately. Then cracked up laughing even harder when Hermione pointed out that his pins were straws instead.

"Doesn't matter," he crowed. "It's still a pincushion, and it's brown like it should be! Like you can talk, Hermione; yours doesn't look like a hedgehog at all."

Isa and I looked down at Hermione's to find that it was shaped more like Crookshanks, and had his coloring, before we started laughing again.

Hermione chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, yuck it up, you two. You two still aren't getting it right! And you're usually the first."

"We know," we both whined. "But at least, we're having fun trying," Isa finished.

"When you aren't complaining." I bopped her on the nose.

Isa blew a raspberry at me. "'Cause you were doing any different."

"All right, you five. What have you all got here?" Professor McGonagall asked when she stood in front of our table. "Let's start with you, Mr. Potter."

We all spun to the person who hadn't said a word throughout our entire exchange, only to find that he was sitting quite smugly at the end of the table. Once we looked down, all of our mouths dropped open.

"It seems, Mr. Potter, you are the only one who has managed to turn your actual hedgehog into a hedgehog-shaped pincushion. Well done!"

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." He looked over at us before he chuckled. "Come on, you guys, pull your fingers out!"

Even Professor McGonagall let out a small chuckle as she walked away from our table.

It was just after lunch, as we were heading to potions, when the thunderstorm started to roll in. Isa looked up at me when we heard the first loud clap of thunder—even down in the dungeons.

 _This is a huge storm,_ Isa thought. _Do you think we'll get what we're after?_

"I think it's why our magic has been so out of whack today because we've got more of it coursing through our bloodstreams. I don't doubt we'll do it."

 _I can feel it. I feel, I don't know, stronger? More predatory?_

"I get it."

"When you two are finished," Snape growled out, "can we get on with class?"

Isa smiled at him, although I was the only one who could tell it was strained. "Of course, Professor. We're always completely riveted in your class. We wouldn't want to miss a thing."

Professor Snape sneered at Isa, went to say something, but thought better of it when he saw my face. One day holding off from saying something wasn't going to be enough. One day, I would snap from his thoughts alone, and nobody would be able to stop me.

Isa and I continued to listen to the storm building in rage from our protected place in the dungeons. It was during one particularly bright flash of lightening, something we saw through the small windows near the ceiling and could both feel every time it happened, that something caught me completely off guard. I was placing one of my ingredients into my cauldron when my heart gave the same _tha-thump_ it had been giving when I repeated my incantation, only much stronger. If it weren't for the fact that my reflexes were better than everyone else's, I would have dropped the ingredient in, causing a whole mess of problems. I thought I had covered it well, but because Isa was paying as much attention to me, as I do to her, she noticed that something was wrong.

 _Teddy? What happened?_

"My heart," I whispered as another flash lit up the sky, causing my heart to give another heavy _tha-thump._ "It's beating with every flash of lightning."

 _Really?_ Isa watched Professor Snape out of the corner of her eye—he was looking away and tormenting other students—while she placed her hand over my chest where my usually dormant heart lay. Just as it rested there, another flash of light accompanied another _tha-thump_. Isa looked up at me with a wistful smile and tears in her eyes. _Oh, my God, I felt it_. Then she abruptly turned away. _I want to wrap my arms around you and_ hear _it. It's not fair._

If it wasn't for the fact that Snape had turned his sneering face in our direction, I would have pulled her in to hug her so she could do just that. I spun back to my cauldron, carefully placing the ingredient I had been adding earlier, as per the instructions, before answering Isa's thoughts. "Maybe later, sweet girl, when we go home?"

Isa nodded but didn't look my way. Instantly, I understood why. I could smell the salt from her tears. I knew if she looked at me she'd burst into tears. _I would like that, Teddy. More than I can tell you._

"What's going on here?" Snape sneered as he stood in front of our table.

"Nothing, sir. Just preparing our potions, per your instructions," I answered because Isa was still pulling herself together.

"Miss Swan?"

Isa looked up. I could see she had red-rimmed eyes, and if I could see it, so could Professor Snape. But what surprised me was the slight softening in his face when he did; it was only for a second, but it was there. Before his face hardened again.

"There is no reason that this potion should make you cry," he sneered yet again.

Isa scoffed. "Because there is no other worldly reason that a person cries, except for what they're doing." Isa started to pack up her ingredients. "Excuse me, but I've finished preparing my potion. I'm going to wait outside until the lesson ends, and I can come back and bottle it." _Please keep an eye on my cauldron, Teddy. I just want to sit alone for a bit._

Snape was absolutely shocked that Isa didn't wait for his okay before she spun and flounced out of the dungeon. He looked up at me.

"You know, you really could use some people skills."

"And who asked you, _Masen_?"

"You did when you insulted my mate, Professor. Next time, keep your opinion to yourself. Just because you have one doesn't mean it should be shared. What's that muggle saying? Oh, yeah, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one."

Once again, Snape's mouth fell open. He was not only surprised at my words but was angry because he felt like a scolded child. He knew he'd been called out on his behavior by someone who was not a student, or peer, but an elder, and he had no comeback for that. He was also surprised by the fact that I said it to him, a teacher. Someone who, in his mind, should have the utmost respect from all of his students. I packed up my ingredients and then sat at the table. Isa wanted her alone time, so I would sit here and watch our cauldrons, making sure that nothing happened to them.

Professor Snape didn't say anything; in fact, his mind was almost blank, so he walked away and sat off to the side. I could hear snickers from the students around us who had heard me, and I could feel Isa's amusement.

At least, she wasn't upset anymore.

~*~UHS~*~

During dinner that evening, Isa and I made our trip outside to repeat our incantation amid the rumor mill of Hogwarts. We were hoping it would be one of the last times we'd have to repeat it. We were both cautiously excited for what that night would bring.

Our friends spoke around us, but never to us. They knew what the electrical storm that had passed overhead during the afternoon meant. From the bits of conversation I heard—when I wasn't distracted by my own thoughts—they were going to run interference if anyone tried to find out where we were because, the minute we finished dinner, Isa and I were meeting Kreacher on the seventh floor by the entrance of the Room of Requirement to go home.

"Teddy, you finished?"

I looked from Isa down to my plate, which I wasn't really seeing, before looking back at my girl. "Yeah. I'm too anxious to eat. What about you?"

Isa pushed her plate away. "I can't do it. Which is funny considering how much we ate for breakfast."

"Maybe our bodies knew we wouldn't be able to stomach food tonight."

Isa nodded and looked around. _I know we just got back, but do you wanna get out of here?_

"Let's go." I leaned around Isa to Hermione, who was paying attention to us but also holding a conversation with Harry and Neville. I tugged on the ends of her hair to gain her complete attention. "We're out of here. Will you guys be all right?"

"Yup. We can field for you." Hermione leaned forward and whispered "good luck" to us before Isa and I stood and made our way out of the Great Hall.

Isa and I didn't even head back to the Common Room but headed straight to the seventh floor; we just couldn't wait any longer. And it seemed that Kreacher knew exactly that because he was standing there waiting for us.

"Kreacher is ready when you are." Kreacher bowed like he usually did. It was something we'd tried to get him to stop but realized that it was his way of showing his respect. At least, we stopped him punishing himself, but I still wanted to find out why they were essentially slaves and not paid for their work. And it was something I was determined to do.

"We're ready, Kreacher!" Isa giggled and walked over to where he was standing. She looked up at me when I held onto the hand that wasn't gripping Kreacher's. "Ready, Teddy?"

I chuckled at the look on her face when she rhymed. "I'm ready; let's go!"

Once again, in the blink of an eye, we were standing in the back yard of Swan Manor. The storm hadn't reached home yet, but I could feel it close by.

"Thank you, Kreacher!" Isa hugged the house elf, who smiled and hugged her back.

"You're welcome, Miss Bella. Good luck to both of you!" Kreacher made his way into the house to check out his kitchen, yet again. He knew that others using it wouldn't have left it exactly how he wanted it.

"I don't know why he bothers." I chuckled. "By the time we come home again, it'll be all messed up."

"Probably because he's trying to keep busy or because it frustrates him." Isa looked up at the clouds rolling in, covering the stars. "Not long now."

I followed her line of sight. "Nope. I'm gonna go use my vampire senses to retrieve our vials without exposing them to the light. Are you okay to wait here?"

"Yup." Isa nodded while still staring up at the sky. "I feel so much," she whispered as I walked away. I knew exactly what she meant.

I realized when I walked through the back door that nobody was home. Apart from Kreacher, we had the whole place to ourselves. I couldn't fathom a reason why they wouldn't be here until I reached the library. There was a note taped to the bookshelf where we entered the potion room.

 _Edward,_

 _I figured it might be easier for you and Bella to concentrate if there was nobody at home with their thoughts demanding your attention. I've organized for the six of us to go out to dinner and a show in London, so we'll be home late._

 _Emmett has already fed and watered Isa's puppies, not that they look like puppies anymore, and popped them into the kennel. He's also explained, to them, that they are not to disturb you. I'm not you, so I don't know if that will work or not._

 _Cortesia has taken her husband and foal away to visit some family, so the house is truly yours._

 _Wait until the lightning hits the Persian Ironwood tree at the edge of the forest before swallowing the potion and recanting the spell; that's the height of the storm. Don't fight the change; allow your instincts to take over. Explain that to Bella, and all will be well._

 _You two will be beautiful._

 _Alice._

I smiled and sent up a small thank you to Alice before opening the sliding door and moving the table that covered Isa's trap door. Although the lamps in the rooms above flickered on automatically when it got dark enough, the ones in Isa's laboratory did not. She had to physically light them because she'd designed it that way. Sometimes, things had to be done in the dark. I closed the trap door as her elevator made its way down, sealing me in total darkness. Thank goodness, my vampire eyesight allowed me to be able to see in no light.

I made my way over to the concealed door, opened it, and then closed it as I walked through. Regardless of the fact that every inch of her laboratory was concealed in darkness, I wanted to take every precaution. Once done, I walked over to the cupboard we had stored our potions in, opened the door, and saw that both potions had done exactly what they were supposed to do. In each one, I could see a mouthful of blood-red liquid.

Because Isa and I had decided to do it this way, we both had bought different types of crystal vials. Mine was a simple design, circular, with a flat bottom, and a spout tube on the top. It had come with a gold-covered cork lid. Simple and easy to feel out. Isa's was more of a teardrop shape with a small gold circular stand on the bottom. Hers also had a gold filigree design around the opening of the bottle and another gold-covered cork lid. I reached out with both hands and grabbed the vials, placing them into a sealed pocket Isa had sewn into the inside of my cloak, before I closed the cupboard and made my way back to my girl.

By the time I made it back outside, the night sky was covered in clouds; there were no stars as far as the eye could see.

"It's coming, Teddy! Can you feel it?" Isa was standing in the backyard with her hands toward the sky like she was worshipping it. "The storm is almost here. It's almost time."

"I can feel it. Alice left some instructions for us."

"Oh? I wondered why I hadn't seen her." She walked over to me under the back verandah.

"They're all out in London." I explained what Alice had seen and told us to do. I finished just as the first bolt of lightning lit up the sky and started the _tha-thump_ in my chest.

"Far be it from us to disagree with Alice's visions now that she lets it happen naturally." Isa looked at me. "Did it happen again?" she whispered.

"It did, sweet girl. Come here."

I pulled Isa to me and cradled her head against my chest, realizing for the first time that she was tall enough to place her ear over my heart. I gently shook my head. I couldn't believe that she was getting so tall. There was only one thought Isa let flow and that was, _I can't believe I'm getting to hear his heartbeat. It's not something I ever thought would happen._

We stood there on the back porch under shelter, enjoying the rain, the thunder, and the lightning, wrapped up in each other's arms. There was no talking, either through thoughts or words, no specific thoughts, just basking in what was between us. Even in its innocence.

It was wonderful. And something we didn't do enough of.

It took a couple hours, and we'd lulled into a calm Zen-like state. So much so that when the brightest strike of lightening lit up the sky, before hitting the tree on the tree line, it scared the both of us, causing us to spin around to see the top of it alight and lean precariously to the side.

"It's time," Isa whispered. "Let's do it."

We walked out into the storm as I pulled the bottles from the concealed pocket, handing Isa's teardrop-shaped one to her while hanging onto my own. At the same time, we raised our wand arms and placed the tip of our wands right over our hearts, while our wands stayed put in their gauntlets, and spoke the incantations.

"Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Isa whispered, while I repeated mine, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus, Animagus Vitea."

With the incantations said, we both pulled the top from our vials, clinked them together, and then swallowed them in one go. Almost immediately, there was a fiery pain that shot up my spine, causing me to close my eyes, and then it radiated out from there and along my extremities; my heartbeat—which had started with the storm—started to beat stronger, faster, and harder.

With all that was going on, I couldn't concentrate on what was happening with Isa.

More pain shot up my spine, causing me to fall onto all fours. Once there, an image started to form in my mind. In fact, it materialized much like my Patronus did when it shot out of the end of my wand, and that was when I realized the image was that of my Patronus. It started out as the wispy corporeal form then began to fill in until the fully formed shape became that of a full-sized male snow leopard.

I could feel when my instincts started to take over, and instead of fighting them, I let them build and build. The change was frightening at worst and uncomfortable at best. But with one last loud growl and a burst of pain, causing me to scrunch my eyes together, the change was complete.

I flopped to the ground in relief, glad it was over, only to snap my head up and open my eyes when Isa let out her own feminine growl. It was younger sounding, and when I found her, I saw it was because she was smaller. Not quite a cub, but not an adult snow leopard either. She was stunning.

She'd also flopped onto the ground, panting from the exertion of her change.

 _Thank you, Teddy; you aren't so bad yourself._ She panted, even in her thoughts. _Wait a minute … I shouldn't be able to hear you._ Then she looked at me. _Oh, I was joking when I said you weren't too bad, but I was so wrong. You're gorgeous._

 _You can hear my thoughts?_ I stood, doing a cat-like stretch. Front legs out, with a bowed back, pulling forward and stretching my back legs and tail. _This is so weird._ I shook my head and ran my tongue over my teeth, feeling my long canines. _We did it, sweet girl. We set out to do it and we did._

 _That we did. Aren't you concerned that I'm hearing your thoughts?_

 _No. Not at all. I figure it's because we're mates and because we're in our Animagus forms. We'll have to test it with Sirius, James, and Remus, but I'll bet we can talk to them too._

It was Isa's turn to stretch as I sat down and watched. It was the same feline stretch I had just done, but you could see she was younger and a little clumsier. Isa's Animagus form was fluffier than mine, but her fur was the same white with black spots all over. It was the odd markings on her front paws that caught my attention. There was an outline that ran all around her legs, starting near the elbows and ending just above her toes, but they weren't filled in. Inside the lines were the spots from her fur. And on her right leg, on the inside, was a thicker line that ran from inner elbow to wrist joint. Once she finished her stretch, Isa looked down at her paws.

 _Huh. They are weird._ She looked over to me. _You have some on your front paws too._ Isa made her way over to me to have a closer look as I held one of my paws up in the air. _You know, the markings seem to run where our gauntlets would rest. It's like those and our wands have melded into our fur, making those strange markings._

 _I was just thinking that about the gauntlets._

Isa's mouth seemed to quirk a little in a smile. _I know. Come on; I want to run, to really stretch!_

 _All right then, let's go!_ Instead of standing, I launched into a run, right from my seated position.

I thought I was fast as a vampire, and I was pretty sure as a snow leopard, I was just as fast. As her younger version, Isa wasn't quite as fast, so I slowed down and kept pace with her. I had been right in my assessment earlier that she had a clumsier frame. She could run well, but her feet hindered her gait a little. They were just a little too large, but she handled it well.

Our senses were already heightened due to what we were—Veela and vampire—but it seemed with the change into our Animagus forms, it had enhanced them further. Our sight was clearer, the sounds were louder, and the smells all around us were stronger, and I thought they'd been like that before. I wondered if they would stay like that in our human form.

 _I don't know that we need it,_ Isa thought. _This could be just because of this form. Like you said, we already had enhanced senses._

 _That's going to take some getting used to._ I chuckled. _I've never had someone reading my thoughts before._

 _At least, you'll know how the rest of us feel. I wonder if you'll be able to hear the others in this form. I wonder if I can hear James, Sirius, and Remus._

 _Guess we'll have to wait and see._

Isa and I continued to run and play all over the forest, stretching our cat bodies and instincts, sometimes letting them take over—Isa's more often than mine. We pounced on each other, rolling and tumbling over and over. Being that she was a cub, she had more playful tendencies, and I loved her for it.

But the most distracting part of being a cat was the damn tail. Isa was the most distracted by that, and not only hers. At one stage, when she was following me while we were walking, every time she got close enough, she'd swipe at mine, causing me to growl at her.

When we stopped for a break, I watched over Isa, as she chased her tail around in circles. Her instincts were closer to the surface than mine were, but I couldn't begrudge her fun because she was having a ball. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized my instincts were just as close to the surface. As I was watching Isa, I was sniffing the air around us, making sure nobody was near us, when I smelled something delicious. Without thinking about it, without even realizing it, I dropped into a hunting crouch and started slinking off into the foliage, tracking the deer that had the unfortunate luck of crossing my path.

What I didn't take into account was Isa's young, playful nature. I wasn't paying attention to her thoughts, and when she'd seen me distracted, her instincts were to reclaim my attention. She climbed up one of the nearest trees—something we had practiced while running through the forest—then slinked along a branch above me. Once she was at the optimal spot, she pounced, jumping from the branch and then landing on me, forcing us to roll and tumble, and me to growl at her in admonishment.

It was that growl, and her act of submission, that made us both snap out of the "cat brain" we had slipped into.

 _Sorry, Teddy. I wasn't thinking like me._

 _It's fine, Isa. I'm sorry for growling at you. It's that balance we're going to have to work on. Knowing when to be us and when to let the "cat" of the bag, so to speak. It's something that will come with time and practice._

Isa jumped up and nudged me with her nose, running her head along the side of mine. _I forgive you. You'll probably have to do it again as I learn that balance._

After that, we made our way back to Swan Manor, leaving the creature I smelled to live another day and knowing that we had to get back to school and get some sleep before we started classes the following morning. When we arrived at Swan Manor, we walked around, calming down, and regulating our breathing. The storm had passed and the night was peaceful because our family still hadn't arrived home.

Eventually, I sat on a large stone that was in the backyard and looked out over the yard, just relaxing, not really thinking of anything. Isa climbed up alongside me and sat on my right side. She bent her neck and cuddled up under my chin and nuzzled into my chest. We both let out loud purrs, similar in nature but different in tone, and it had to be one of the most calming moments in my entire existence.

 _I love you, Edward._

 _I love you, too, Isabella. Time for us to turn back._

 _I don't want to._

I chuckled softly. _Me either, but we have to. We've got responsibilities._

 _I know. I think for this first time it might be easier if we do it separately. Since we share our thoughts and all._

 _Okay, sweet girl. I'll go first._ I closed my eyes and visualized what I had looked like before I changed into my snow leopard. After a few seconds, I could feel the shimmer around my body, felt myself move to stand from four legs to two, and then the cloak from my school uniform fall against my legs. When I opened my eyes, I was, once again, Edward Masen, the vampire.

"You're turn, Isa. Just like I did, okay?"

 _Okay._ I watched as Isa visualized herself as she had looked when we arrived at Swan Manor earlier. She took a little longer, but after a bit, I saw the air around her shimmer—much like the road does on a hot day—before she morphed from snow leopard into my gorgeous mate in her thirteen-year-old glory. When she was done, she looked up at me. "I did it! I'm back, and all without my wand."

I pulled Isa to me in a giant hug. "We both did it, beautiful, but I'm proud of you none the less. Well done!"

"You too, Teddy; you too."

We stood there for just a moment before I pulled back. "I'd better let your puppies out of their kennels before they get too anxious. Are you ready to go back?"

"Yeah. I just want to try one thing."

"What's that?" I asked as I opened the kennel that Sniper, Botan, and Falkor were in.

 _This._ I heard Isa's thought and spun as the door sprung open and the puppies flew out. _I was able to transform back into my leopard without my wand, too._

I laughed as the puppies flew over to where Isa was once again a snow leopard. They were circling her, trying to figure out what she was.

 _Smell mummy. Big cat smell like mummy._ These were the thoughts I could hear from all three of the puppies. They knew she smelled like Isa, but they couldn't figure out that she was the snow leopard as well. The funny part about it all was they were flying just high enough that she had to jump to try and catch them. The visual made me laugh out loud.

I let them play for a little while because they were having so much fun.

"Okay, sweet girl, time to confuse them further and change back. You have to get some sleep before classes tomorrow."

 _I don't want to. Can't we skip tomorrow?_

"No. No skipping. We've got too much to learn. Besides, I think our friends are going to want to see us and find out if we succeeded."

 _Fine!_ Isa huffed, shimmering back into her human form. "But you're so right. They're going to interrogate us. And I'm getting tired." Isa let out a huge yawn to emphasize her point.

"Then let's head back to school." Once again, I pulled her into my arms before calling Kreacher.

~*~UHS~*~

"Oh, my God! She's so pretty," Hermione whispered while sitting on the floor next to Ginny and Isa, who was in her snow leopard form. Hermione reached out to touch but pulled her hand back.

I chuckled at the look of awe on her face. "You can touch, Hermione; she's not going to bite."

Isa was right. All day, our friends had been hounding us to find out what had happened, and we'd kept mum about it. We hadn't said a word, so when they grabbed our hands after dinner and dragged us to the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor, we knew we wouldn't be able to keep it to ourselves any longer. They were all here, including Luna, Ginny, Fred, and George, and they all laughed at Hermione. Luna joined Ginny, Isa, and Hermione on the floor and reached over to pat Isa between the ears. Almost immediately, Isa began to purr, loudly, from Luna's actions, making everyone laugh again. Hermione joined in stroking Isa's soft fur; she was enjoying it so much she laid down and rested her head on her paws with her eyes drooped.

"How did it feel?" Harry asked. He was still on the fence as to whether he wanted to become one or not. He knew the more information he had the better.

"The first change was painful and just this side of scary. Granted, it was nowhere near the level of pain of my change to a vampire, but it was painful."

"But it obviously worked. Isa looks happy. Are you similar?" Neville asked.

"Would you like to see?"

The boys all nodded, while Hermione, Ginny, and Luna were busy with Isa. Although, I could hear from their thoughts that they were interested in what I looked like as well.

I closed my eyes and envisioned what I looked like when I was a snow leopard. It was easier than the first time, and I knew the more I practiced, the easier it would become. One day, I'd be able to make that change as easy as breathing. I knew it had worked when there were more gasps of awe, so I sat and opened my eyes to look around at everyone.

"You look so regal," Ginny whispered as she came over to me. "May I?" she asked as she reached out a hand. I dipped my head, indicating that she could, so she reached out a hand and ran it from my head, down my back. "You're fur's courser than Isa's. Is that because she's younger?"

I dipped my head again before concentrating on the thoughts going on around me. What I realized was their thoughts were quieter than when I was human. I could still hear them, but not as loudly as before. In fact, as I spread out my mind reading, I noticed it was the same all over. All the thoughts that were from people were quieter than normal, but the voices from Athan, Saffy, even Buckbeak, and the other animals were louder. That was interesting. And something I'd have to investigate further.

After a while, Isa came over and sat at my side again like she had last night, nuzzled into my chest, and purred a little louder. The girls were all melting, especially when I leaned down and licked along her head.

"You two look so perfect together." Hermione sighed girlishly. "Did you have fun last night?"

 _Go on; you change back. I want to stay like this for a while._ Isa thought. Her thoughts were loud and clear, making me wonder whether that was because she was an Animagus or because she was my mate. _Maybe both? Go on; they're waiting._

Isa walked back over to lay between Hermione and Luna while I made my change. By the time I was standing on two legs again, she'd rolled onto her back and was letting them pat her belly, making them giggle.

"We did have fun last night. We let our instincts out and played for a while. We practiced climbing, stalking, and pouncing. Isa chased her tail for a while." Everyone laughed at that. "What? They were distracting. It was really weird to have something like that and the canine teeth. It's something we'll have to get used to.

"Isa played with the pups for a while, jumping up to catch them while they flew around her. They weren't sure about her smell because she smelled like Isa—or Mom—but looked completely different. They weren't quite sure what to make of her."

I could see Harry was concerned that we wouldn't be able to communicate with them—silently—in our cat forms. So he voiced the question that was his biggest concern. "Can you still hear us in that form?"

"As you see"—I pointed to Isa, who was listening intently to Ginny, Hermione, and Luna—"we can understand when you talk to us out loud. But your question is more along my mind reading?" Harry nodded to my question. "Yes, I can hear you. So being quiet won't be a problem either."

"What about between each other? I know you could hear Bella before," Fred started. "But can you talk to her?"

I nodded. "She could hear every thought of mine, much like I can hers."

George followed up on that. "Can other Animagi hear you? Can you talk to each other?"

"That's something we're going to have to test with James, Sirius, and Remus. I hope to at least communicate but not share every thought with them. I don't mind with Isa, but I don't want to share with everyone else."

"She's giving you a taste of your own talent." Neville laughed.

"Which is exactly what she said to me last night!" I replied, which caused all the boys to laugh.

"I wonder …" Luna trailed off on her thought dreamily, causing me to chuckle, which caused her to snap out of it. "Do you think Bella would play with toys in this form?"

I laughed at the glare Isa sent her way; as much as she meant to be scary, it just wasn't because she was more kitten like and lying upside down. "I don't doubt she just might, Luna, considering how distracted she was, by not only my tail but her own. Although, now that she knows you've thought about it, she might not transform in your presence."

We all cracked up when Isa flipped over, stood, and sauntered away, flicking Luna with her tail in the process. Even Luna herself thought it was funny. "I don't think she's very happy with me."

"She's not mad, just showing her displeasure." The Room of Requirement provided—what seemed to be a simple cat bed—at Isa's wishes—where she climbed in and started to clean herself by licking a paw and swiping it over her head. "For now, she's decided to ignore us."

"Aww, don't be like that, Bella!" George pleaded. "We just want to play with you."

In response, Isa stood back up, turned around, and laid back down with her back to us. I chuckled at her petulance. "I think you're out of luck. She's done for the day."

For the next little bit while Isa napped, I talked through the process of doing what we had done. The others had plenty more questions but none more so than Fred and George. They had placed their chocolate fudge in their mouths on the last full moon cycle after deciding it was something they wanted to do. Seeing Isa and me in our forms made them that much more determined about doing it as well. I told them to send Alice a message to find out if there was going to be another storm after the next full moon.

"She can do that?" they'd both asked.

I nodded. "She's more accurate than any weatherperson I've ever known. And that's the truth, even with the way we've been taught to check the weather here in the wizarding world. All you have to do is ask."

Harry stood after we'd finished talking. "Well, Fred and George, we'd best be going to bed. We've got Quidditch tomorrow against Ravenclaw."

"And your first match on the Firebolt!" they both crowed before George continued. "We should be unstoppable with you on that."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," I murmured, only to realize that those from the wizarding world were confused by what I meant. I chuckled again, a little sarcastically. "It's a saying from the muggle world, which means you shouldn't say things like that before it happens. It might bring you bad luck."

"Never!" Fred cheered. "Harry is our good luck charm. And unless the dementors interrupt again, Harry won't let us down."

"No pressure or anything," Harry grumbled.

It was at that point Isa nudged my hand with her nose. _Tell Harry we'll keep a better eye out for dementors this time around. We're better prepared. They won't make him fall off this time._

"You're not going to tell him yourself, sweet girl?" I asked running a hand over her head gently.

 _No._

Again, I chuckled at her desire to stay as her cat, rubbing her head before I looked up at Harry. "Isa said to tell you that we won't let them come near this time. We're better prepared. Plus, I think Professor Dumbledore has forbidden them to enter the grounds during the match."

"Good," Harry sighed. "Good. Well then, I'm off to bed."

With that, everyone started saying their goodnights and made their way out of the Room of Requirement with a wave. Once they were gone, I plopped down on the large comfy sofa that had materialized in the room. The twins had been sitting on it previously. When I relaxed back and stretched out, Isa climbed up next to me and laid down with her head in my lap.

"Are you going to change back, Isa?"

 _Nope. I'm quite comfortable like this. Don't you want to be like this too?_

I thought about it for a minute. "Hop up." Isa sat up while I stood and pulled my pocket watch out and placed it on the table after setting the alarm. "Want to make sure that it goes off with plenty of time for the match. We don't want to be late."

 _No, we don't. Harry is going to need us, I think._

I visualized my leopard form and transformed. It was getting easier every time. _I think he'll feel much better if we're there to help._ I climbed up on the sofa again, facing Isa. She lay down, resting her head on her front paws, so I laid down behind her, resting my head on her shoulders.

 _I think so too. Even if nothing happens, it'll give him the confidence to play without worrying._

 _Exactly._

With that, we both relaxed, and Isa fell asleep.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Hmmm, so they finally made the 'change' and became their Animagi. I look forward to your reactions!**

 **See you all in a fortnight!**


	13. Chapter Twelve - Breaking and Entering

**Happy Friday everyone! And welcome to posting day! Since I'm heading out for dinner, I thought that I'd give you the chapter a little bit early. I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **A big thank you goes out to my team Pienuniek and Sally, I would be lost without you two, thank you for doing everything you do for me!**

 **I don't own Twilight or Harry Potter, they belong to SM and JK Rowling, no copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See me at the bottom. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve – Breaking and Entering**

A large roar went up from the crowd as the Ravenclaw team was able to interrupt a pass made by the Gryffindor chasers while an equally loud "boo" was heard from the Gryffindor stands.

We'd been out watching the match for an hour, and so far, the Dementors hadn't come anywhere near the game. It had been a fairly close match, with both teams scoring fairly evenly. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were almost evenly matched because they both played by the rules of the game. Sure, Harry's broom had given him an advantage, but so far, the snitch had been impossible to find, even with my enhanced senses.

Granted, there was a lot riding on the line. Because, if we lost this match, we were out of the running for the Quidditch cup, and nobody wanted that, especially Oliver Wood. He'd been working the team harder than normal, even with all we had going on, because he was determined to go out on top for his last year at Hogwarts.

Percy hadn't been any better. He'd accosted Harry in the hallways as he was running out this morning, demanding that he do the impossible and win the cup.

"I have ten galleons riding on Gryffindor winning the cup. I made the bet with my girlfriend. Harry, you have to make sure we win," he lowered his voice, "because I don't have the ten galleons."

"Then why did you make the bet?" Harry had asked, too curious but needing to go.

"Because I know you can do it. I just wanted to give you something extra to reach for." Percy had wandered off then, knowing he'd done his bit to give Harry encouragement.

Harry snorted. "Because I'm not under enough pressure; thanks, Percy," he muttered sarcastically as he got back on his way.

I'd picked up Harry's thoughts when Isa and I had been on our way down to the pitch. He'd been concerned about the Dementors but knew Isa and I would keep them at bay. He'd been relieved when the Gryffindor team—himself included—had risen from the pitch because he'd seen us in the stands.

"Oh, my Merlin! Go, Katie!" was screamed by most of the Gryffindor's in the stands, bringing me back to the present.

 _That was an awesome play, Teddy. Where were you?_ Isa asked while still keeping an eye on our chasers as they made their way down the pitch.

"Thinking about this morning and how much pressure is on our poor seeker. I hope he doesn't buckle."

 _Nah. Harry's strong. And strength is something he's going to need. He just doesn't know it yet._

"You're right about that."

"TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! That was an excellent interception and play by our Katie Bell! That brings the score to eighty with Ravenclaw only twenty points behind. How much longer until the seekers find the snitch?"

 _Lee really enjoys being the announcer. He's really good at it._

I chuckled. "Not sure anyone would be able to do a better job."

 _Isn't that the truth._

"OH, AND WHAT A SAVE BY OUR ILLUSTRIOUS KEEPER, OLIVER WOOD! This is his last year, and I know the Gryffindor team is trying to help him go out with a bang … Yes, Professor McGonagall, I'll comment on the game … and the quaffle is making its way down the pitch in the hands of the Gryffindor chasers … oooh, and that was a failed attempt at an interception by the Ravenclaws …"

I was pulled out of listening and watching the match by Draco calling me. _Edward! I have some news. I'm looking in your direction; can you hear me?_ I nodded while still watching the match. _Crabbe, Goyle, and Flint are preparing to play a prank today. I'd hoped they wouldn't go through with it when I pulled out, calling it lame, otherwise, I would've told you sooner._

I growled in frustration, catching Isa's attention. "What's wrong?"

"Three Slytherin's are going to try pulling a prank during the game."

"Really? What do they plan on doing?"

"I have no idea. Draco just said it was really lame."

 _Well, that could be anything._ Isa huffed. "Are you gonna listen out for them and stop it?"

I shook my head. "Harry can handle a prank. We both know he's going to need to be able to handle a lot more than that as he gets older."

All Isa did was nod. Due to the research we'd done into Horcruxes, how they were made, and what they could be, we'd come to some very scary realizations. If what we thought might come to pass, Harry was going to have to be prepared to fight, and fight for his life. It was time to start preparing him for that.

Even if he didn't know we were doing that.

"OOOH, YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, RAVENCLAWS! It seems Fred and George Weasley have it in for you today! They are on FIRE!"

 _What's that?_ Isa's thoughts caught my attention. I followed her line of sight to see three people, dressed up in costumes, come walking onto the side of the pitch. _Oh, they didn't. That's just wrong._

"IT SEEMS HARRY'S CAUGHT SIGHT OF THE SNITCH! He's flying low, going after it, but what's that? THREE DEMENTORS ARE ON THE PITCH. Watch out, Harry …OH, MY MERLIN … IS THAT A FULLY FORMED PATRONUS? Harry Potter has produced a fully formed stag patronus!"

 _All right, Teddy, go. Chase them down for Dumbledore._ I was gone before Isa had finished telling me to go.

I wasn't going to let them get away with trying to rig the match in their favor. The Slytherin team were a bunch of cheaters, yet another thing they were allowed to get away with, that the other heads of house wouldn't allow. Snape wasn't only a bully; he was a cheat, and a lousy teacher.

Once they saw me coming, Crabbe, Goyle, and the team captain Marcus Flint tried to take off. They tried to outrun a vampire. _Pfft._ I flicked my arm out and released my wand.

"You really want to run from me? You do realize vampires live for the chase, right?" I growled with a smirk on my face. When they continued to run, I smiled even darker than before. "Okay." I pointed my wand at them. "Incarcerous!"

Ropes flew out of the end of my wand, wrapping around the ankles of the fleeing Slytherins, tripping them up, which made them face-plant on the ground. Not that their disguises had helped them run any. Once that was done, I slowed to a walk as the game continued on around me. When they were down, I used the Expelliarmus spell to disarm them, only because I didn't want to have to deal with the spells ruining my clothes. They might not hurt, but some of them certainly singed my uniform. I let my inner vampire show on my face before I ripped the masks off the boys.

"Did you really think you'd get away with this?" I growled as I bobbed down in front of their faces. "Your fathers may have been, or may be, big scary death eaters here in the wizarding world, but you are not. Nor are you a match for a vampire." Their faces blanched in shock from what I was saying. "Your information is incorrect. Vampires are immortal." I leaned in to whisper as I could hear Professor Dumbledore approaching with a couple other professors. "And I can kill better, move faster, and have you all dead before any of you have your wands out." I stood. "Remember that."

"Mr. Masen, are these the three boys attempting to cheat?"

"They are, Professor Dumbledore. I think a stern punishment is in order, considering their house professor has a habit of letting it happen." I frowned at Professor Snape. "It doesn't seem very sportsmanly, but it does seem a little dark."

Professor Dumbledore looked over at Professor Snape. "It does seem that way, even if they've had a long history of it happening."

I snorted. "Well, maybe it's time for Slytherin House to try to change their reputation. It seems not all their … students … want to live up to the Slytherin name. While all people have the ability to be dark, to be evil, most don't act on it. And not all of them are placed in Slytherin. Why do a few have to ruin what should be a proud house for the rest? To give the rest a bad name?"

"Indeed, Mr. Masen, indeed. Thank you for your assistance. I will deal with this personally, if you'd like to return to the match. Although, I fear it is about to end."

I inclined my head to indicate that I'd heard him, handed their wands over to Professor McGonagall—because I didn't trust Snape as far as I could throw him—then loped off around the edge of the stadium to get back to my seat.

"HARRY POTTER IS ONCE AGAIN AFTER THE SNITCH!" Lee's voice rang out. I poured on the speed. I didn't want to miss this. "LOOK AT THAT FIREBOLT FLY! If only we could all get one of those."

I made it back next to Isa to see Harry weaving in and out of not only players but the skyboxes as well. The Firebolt worked well with Harry, responding to his every move; it was like it was one with him. The stadium was almost completely quiet as everyone watched Harry and his Firebolt. Try as Cho Chang might, her Comet Two-Sixty was just no match for Harry's Firebolt. Within minutes of spotting the snitch for this last time, Harry had it in his hand. The crowd went absolutely bonkers!

"GRYFFINDOR WINS, GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee shouted over and over into the microphone. "THEY CAN STILL WIN THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

Every single Gryffindor made their way onto the pitch to celebrate with our quidditch team, including one very happy Percy.

"You did it, Harry. I'm still in it to win the ten galleons." Percy clapped Harry on the back before running off to rub it in his girlfriend's face.

Harry shook his head. "He really is a piece of work." Harry was about to continue but was interrupted by Fred and George yelling "party in the tower" at the top of their lungs!

Isa laughed quietly. "Guess things are going to be busy this afternoon."

"And probably well into the night if the twins have their way."

"We'll stay for a while?"

I nodded to Isa's question. "Then I think the Room of Requirement is calling our names. Besides we've got forms to practice turning into and spells to perfect."

"Sounds like a plan."

~*~UHS~*~

The Gryffindor Common Room was packed with every single Gryffindor by the time Isa and I made it. We'd taken a detour to talk to Kreacher about recruiting some house elves to make some food for the party; seeing as it was so last minute, nobody had thought about it. Kreacher was only too happy to help. The only place that wasn't sandwiched with people was my little corner, although there was one person sitting there, Hermione.

"Do you think there will be any sleep had tonight?" she asked with a laugh in her voice.

"I'm sure Professor McGonagall will come in at some point and tell everyone to go to bed." Isa giggled taking a seat next to her on my desk while I trundled over to my recliner.

I pulled out the charms book for year four and started where I had left off. Isa and I had been methodically working through each charm and practicing them until we perfected them. It might have been harder for some, to self-teach, but Isa and I preferred it that way. Each charm or spell had a diagram and description of wand movements and phonetically spelled out pronunciation. And charms wasn't the only book we were making our way through.

Harry stumbled over to us only to frown when he saw me reading. "Are you really going to read through this party, Edward?"

This was one of those times that Emmett would have called me an old fuddy-duddy. I looked at Harry, Neville—who wasn't far behind him—Hermione, and Isa and decided I wasn't going to do that.

"No. Let's party!"

~*~UHS~*~

By midnight, I realized I'd had more fun than I had in a long time. I couldn't remember the last time I'd enjoyed a party this much, but that could fall under the banner of not having to hide who I was. Another thing that Carlisle had stripped from me, it seemed.

It was midnight when we were interrupted, by none other than Professor McGonagall.

"All right, you lot, we haven't won the cup yet; all of you need to get to bed," Professor McGonagall said from the doorway. "I want quiet from this tower as soon as possible."

There were murmurs of "yes, Professor" as the music was switched off and Kreacher, Pokey, and a couple other elves popped in to clean the remaining food. Isa looked up at me, winking, as she made her way to her dorm room to change before we made our way up to the Room of Requirement. Just because we'd had fun at the party didn't mean we were skipping our plans for the night. An hour or so of spells and transfiguring ourselves would be worth it. Besides, Isa could nap tomorrow.

I sat in my chair, reading the book I'd picked up earlier, monitored Isa, and waited for Professor McGonagall to leave. Once she was happy that nobody was going to come back down to continue partying, she nodded in my direction before stepping back through Sir Cadogan's portrait.

 _Is it safe, Teddy?_

"Yup. Ready to get to work?"

 _Absolutely,_ Isa thought as she skipped down the stairs. _I want to sleep in my leopard form again. It was much warmer than in a bed._

I chuckled guiding her out of the Common Room. "That might be because of the fur. Imagine how much warmer you'd be in that form while in a bed."

 _Ooooooh, that sounds like heaven. I'll have to try that._

"It really does." We continued making small talk as we made our way to the RoR. It was Isa who brought up a subject I'd thought about a few times.

 _Are we going to try finishing school early? Maybe do two years together instead of just one?_

"Why do you ask?"

 _Because we're ahead of everyone else, thanks to all of our studying. As much as I enjoy being with our friends, sticking to what they're learning is a little bit boring._

"That might be something we can discuss with Professor Dumbledore, and maybe Professor McGonagall, after this year. I'd thought about it but didn't want to put too much pressure on you."

Isa nodded while she opened up the RoR. _I wonder how they'd do it._ I frowned at her thought, unsure what she meant. She filled me in when she saw my confusion. _Would they test us on everything we should have learned in a year? Would we have to do some essays, then perform some spells to prove we are competent?_

"Oh. I have no idea. Again, something else we'd have to ask about. First, I suggest we talk to Alice."

 _Good idea._ Isa spun in place with her arms out wide. _What are we working on first?_

"Let's just pick up where we left off with this book."

"Okie dokie!"

What I realized when I started going through the spells at the higher levels was that a lot of the charms were revisions from years before. But we went over all of them anyway. As usual, it didn't take long for us to be able to master the spells that were in the book; granted, we knew a few of them, but it never hurt to continue to master them. We were even trying to do some without speaking; that was harder, but not entirely impossible. We hadn't mastered it just yet, but I could say that, eventually, we would be able to.

Once we'd exhausted everything from the charms book, we practiced turning to and from our animagus forms. Every time we completed the transfiguration, it got easier and easier to do. And this was the proof that we would be able to master not only wordless magic but wandless magic as well. We were already doing it.

Eventually though, the late night caught up with Isa—who started yawning almost constantly—so the RoR provided Isa a bed. Exactly like we had talked about earlier. I watched her climb up on what seemed to be the softest mattress and dig around in the blankets until she was lying underneath them, curled up in the smallest ball she could make.

 _Come on, Teddy. It'll be better with you in here._

I chuckled in my thoughts as I jumped up on the bed because her thoughts were slurred with sleepiness. _I'm here, sweetheart. Sleep well._

She was already snoring before I'd completely settled around her. I lulled into a contented state where I was relaxed, letting my thoughts roam but not paying attention to anything around the castle. It was a relief to know I could become this content; the only thing that would have made it better was if I were sleeping. Although in this emotional climate, I didn't know if that would be a good thing.

Because I'd let everything fade into the background, I was startled as much as Isa when an ear piercing scream interrupted the peaceful night. We both bolted upright, transfiguring mid-jump as we hurried toward the door.

"What was that, and where did it come from?" Isa asked as we continued to run.

"It was a scream, and it came from Gryffindor Tower."

"What happened?"

"Thoughts are too jumbled. We'll find out when we get there, and I can find someone calm."

Isa just nodded and continued following me toward the tower. The closer we got, the more the thoughts filtered in. Something had happened in the boys' dormitory. I shook my head in disbelief because, whatever had happened, had happened to Ron.

Harry and Neville met Isa and me at the portrait.

"What's going on? And why is everyone out of bed?" I demanded the minute we walked in. I was frustrated because I had been lax on my security.

"Rabastan Lestrange got into the tower," Neville whispered. "It seemed he was going to attack Ron."

"I thought he was after a way to bring back Voldemort," Harry followed up.

I frowned, thinking it over.

"It's weird. Where's Hermione?" Isa asked.

"Over there in Edward's corner." Harry pointed, turning back to me when she walked off. "Why is it weird?"

"Because, with all the research we've done, and everything we've found, he should be coming after you or Neville. Why didn't he do that? Was it a simple case of wrong room?" I paused, trying to hear Ron but everyone's thoughts were too loud. "Where's Ron?"

"Both Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall are talking to him in the hospital wing."

I nodded. "Thanks, guys." I looked up to see that Ginny had joined Hermione and Isa. "Isa?"

 _Go. I heard. You need to find out what happened. I'll stay here and talk to everyone in his dorm room. Hermione will help. As will Neville and Harry._

I threw her a wink when she looked up at me before turning to the boys. "Isa's going to have something for you to do. I've got to …"

"Go," Neville and Harry murmured together. "We'll handle this," Neville finished.

As I ran to the hospital wing, I considered how quickly they'd removed Ron from Gryffindor Tower. The only way it would have been possible was if they'd used a house elf to do it or someone had the power to apparate inside the castle grounds. There was no way they would have been able to remove him without me noticing otherwise.

Once I reached the floor with the hospital wing, I slowed down to a walk because Ron was still in hysterics, even though they were force-feeding him chocolate. I now understood why they had to move him. He would have upset the other students had they left him in the dormitory. It took several more minutes before Ron was calm enough to talk.

"Mr. Weasley, can you tell us what happened?"

Ron took a deep breath, then letting it out, before he started to talk. "We'd been having a party in our Common Room, celebrating the win today. Professor McGonagall," Ron nodded in her direction, "came in around midnight to tell us to get to bed. It didn't take long for us all to scatter and head to bed."

As Ron went through every single step of the night, I followed along with his thoughts. There were no discrepancies between what he was saying and what he was thinking, which surprised me, if I were to be honest.

"It didn't take me long to be ready for bed, or to climb in and fall asleep. I thought I'd sleep like … well, like the dead. I don't know what it was that woke me up, but when I did, there was someone standing over me with a huge knife in his hand. It took me a few seconds to recognize his face and his cold blue eyes, but it was Rabastan Lestrange standing over my bed.

"Rabastan Lestrange tried to kill me tonight."

I continued to listen as I walked away from the hospital. It seemed that when he realized Ron was awake, Lestrange hightailed it out of the dorm room. I'm not sure if that was wise or cowardly; I suppose it depended on what his end goal was for getting in in the first place.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Professor Sprout waddling as quickly as she could along the corridor heading toward the hospital wing. That made me frown because she was supposed to be watching over the kids, and the investigation, in Gryffindor Tower.

"Hello, Edward. Aren't you supposed to be in your common room?"

I straightened my frown and nodded to her. "Professor Sprout, I was just following up on something."

"Please, head back; it's well past lights out."

"Yes, ma'am."

I tuned into the conversations taking place in the tower, only to realize that Isa and everyone had finished their investigations and were waiting for me to get back. Besides, I wanted to check out Ron's dorm before everyone was allowed back in there. Hopefully, it would yield me some answers.

Harry and Neville were waiting for me when I walked through the door. Isa had felt me getting closer and shooed them over to meet me.

"What's up?"

Neville looked around, confirming no one was paying attention to us. "Boy, have we got lots to share with you."

I nodded, then started walking across the floor as Neville and Harry followed behind. "Good; you can tell me while I do my own investigating in Ron's room."

"We aren't supposed to be in there," Harry argued.

I shrugged but continued up the stairs. I watched through Isa as Harry and Neville debated what to do before they followed me up as well.

"What have you got to share with me?" I asked as I walked into Ron's dorm room. Neville and Harry waited by the door, letting me use my sense of smell without interruption.

"As far as the others in here knew, everything was fine when they went to bed. That's Ron's bed over there," Harry explained. "They couldn't tell anything was out of the ordinary. But then they were so hyped up from the party I don't think they could have spotted a polar bear in the middle of a rainforest."

Neville snorted. "'Cause our dorm was any different. Anyway, like Harry said, nobody noticed anything, and they were all fast asleep until they heard Ron scream."

"By the time they woke up, though, nobody saw anything, and that includes whoever it was hovering over Ron with a knife, either in the room or running out the door," Harry finished, shrugging his shoulders when I looked over at him.

"Ron was adamant that it was Lestrange, and I can't disagree with him. There's that strange scent in here from the forest." I looked at the pair because they were both still agitated. "There's something else?"

I continued to look around as Harry and Neville had a quiet conversation. "There was something strange that happened when Professor Sprout questioned Sir Cadogan. She wanted to know why he had let him in through the door."

I looked over to Harry as he picked up the story just as I reached down to pick up a piece of paper on the floor. "Sir Cadogan said that he couldn't tell who was under the hood of the jacket, but that he had the password right, which was why he let him in the door. But the thing that caught our attention was that Sir Cadogan told Professor Sprout that 'this person' had a piece of paper with all the latest passwords on it."

I nodded because I remember a lot of people complaining at different times of the day that Sir Cadogan had changed the password. There had been many times that people had been stranded outside the tower because they had forgotten it. None louder, or more often, than Ron. In fact, if I remembered correctly, he had even admitted to writing them down. _Well, not out loud at least._

I looked down at the piece of paper I had picked up from the floor next to Ron's bed and frowned. It seemed Sir Cadogan had been right. Lestrange had had a piece of paper with the passwords on it; I knew that to be a fact.

Because it was staring me in the face. And every single one had been written in Ron's handwriting.

~*~UHS~*~

The next day was pandemonium for a Sunday. Everyone had heard what had happened—the grapevine in Hogwarts was better than any public school I'd ever been in—and Ron was the center of attention, something he was enjoying immensely. Even if he was still in the hospital wing.

There were questions thrown at all of us about what had happened the night before. Even from those who had never spoken a word to any of us. I even had one first year, who was terrified of me, find the courage to come and ask what had happened. It was unreal.

It took longer than I thought it would for Professor Dumbledore to call me to his office. We were sitting outside on the grounds when Fawkes—of all the birds around Hogwarts—landed at my side, which confused everyone else, except Isa, because they couldn't hear him like I could.

 _Edward._

"Hey, Fawkes. What's going on?"

 _Albus wants to see you. His office._ With that, he took back off, not waiting for an answer.

"What was that?" Harry asked in awe as the beautiful red and gold bird flew off.

"That was Professor Dumbledore's Phoenix Fawkes. And it seems our headmaster wants to talk to me. I'll fill you all in when I get back." I leaned over and kissed Isa's head before I stood and walked away.

 _I'll bet he'll want to know where you were last night._ I heard Isa's thought as I left, and I had to agree with her. It didn't take me long before I was at the gargoyle hiding the revolving staircase to Dumbledore's office.

"Welcome, Edward. Come in," Dumbledore called when I knocked on the door.

"Hello, sir. You called for me?"

"Please, sit. I suppose you know why you're here."

"I figured you want to know how Lestrange got past me last night."

Dumbledore hummed. "You would be correct. How did that happen?"

"Simple." I shrugged. "I wasn't in the common room when it happened." I leaned back in the chair, giving him ample time for what I had said to register.

"Then why didn't you hear him?" I could tell that Professor Dumbledore was a little frustrated with my answer.

"Because I couldn't hear him at all, sir." I was a little bit snarky, but I didn't like the feeling that he was putting this pressure on me. "Had any thoughts stuck out to me, even when I'm relaxing to the point that I feel like I'm sleeping, I would have heard it. It would have registered. But nothing did, ergo he had his thoughts closed with Occlumency. What would you have me do? Stand guard all night, every night? I need a break too."

Dumbledore looked shamefaced. "You're right, Edward. I'm sorry. You've been on since getting here three years ago, plus everything with Carlisle. I'm sure you needed it. Did Isabella hear anything?"

"She was with me."

"I see. Have you heard anything since last night?"

I shook my head.

"Thank you. Please, if you do hear anything?"

"I'll come to you, sir." I stood from my chair knowing I was about to be dismissed. "I want you to know that had I heard anything the other night, I would have been there before he could have made it to the dorm rooms. I'm sorry I wasn't."

Professor Dumbledore looked up from his desk. "I do know that, Edward. I'm sorry for not giving you adequate time to be just Edward too. I'll try to remember that from now on."

"Thank you, sir."

I let myself out of his office and then made my way back to the grounds where everyone else was still sitting. Although now, they had pulled out some homework. They were just trying to put what had happened back a little bit so it didn't consume our every waking moment.

"Did everything go okay?" Isa asked when I plonked down next to her.

"Yup. He just wanted to know if I'd heard anything. I didn't; end of conversation."

"Whoa, Edward, what's up?" Fred and George asked at the same time. Fred continued, "Your answer there was just a smidge bitter."

I took a deep breath before letting it out. "Yeah, sorry. I just feel like I always have to be on. Always listening. And I feel guilty because I wasn't. I just … needed the break, I suppose."

 _I'm sorry, Teddy. I was the one who wanted to stay there._

"It's not your fault, Isa. If I wanted to head back to the tower, I could have argued. I thought it would be okay."

"It's not your fault either, Edward," Harry piped up from next to me. "Take it from someone who's been gossiped about for the better part of the year. Sometimes, you just need a break from everything."

"Oh, yeah," Neville added. "I can't tell you how many times I just hid out in my room when all Gran wanted was for me to 'perform' in front of her friends, only to get angry at me when nothing happened. There's nothing wrong with wanting to take a break from life going on around you."

"Don't let anyone guilt you, either of you. Everyone deserves to just take time for themselves." George huffed. "The last two years have been full on. We've had two threats that have been around for the whole year. I'm not surprised you needed the break. Ron wasn't hurt, and he gets to live in the glory of surviving Rabastan Lestrange."

Everyone in our group snorted at that. Ron was certainly reveling in his fifteen minutes.

"Too true," Hermione muttered. "Too true."

~*~UHS~*~

"Ugh, this morning has been a shit-fest from the start," I growled quietly during a break from class Monday morning. I was sitting at a table in the library, rubbing my temples. I hadn't suffered from a headache since I became a vampire, but I'm pretty sure there was a first time for everything.

 _What does that mean?_ Isa asked from next to me.

"Oh, sorry, angel," I muttered. "That was a swear word in the muggle world. I just meant that it's been a really bad morning."

 _You can say that again._ I opened my mouth. _Don't. You aren't Emmett._

I laughed but groaned when some thoughts floated around as Neville walked into the library.

It really had been a shit start to the morning. It had been a quiet night, which I was thankful for, but with the others starting to wake, it was shattered. Absolutely shattered.

Isa and Hermione had come down early to sit and read something that wasn't school related. Other Gryffindors had begun shuffling through to get breakfast as we waited for Harry, Neville, and three of the five Weasleys to come down before we left. There wasn't much noise, or talking, being made, that was, until an animalistic screech was let out from above, and then a "you bloody great big orange furball!"

Hermione shot up as Isa and I heard the scratching of claws trying to grip a smooth floor and thumps of heavy feet running after them. "You stupid cat! What have you done with Scabbers? I know you ate him!"

By that stage, Isa and I had joined Hermione at the bottom of the stairs. Crookshanks flew off the bottom of the staircase, running between Hermione and me before hunching down behind his momma.

 _Didn't do … didn't get … rat gone._ I heard through the panting thoughts of the poor cat.

It didn't take long for Ron to follow Crookshanks down the stairs, almost barreling into the three of us.

"Hermione!" he shouted when he caught sight of her. "Your cat has killed Scabbers!"

"Crookshanks would never do that. He's a good boy, aren't you, Crookshanks?"

 _Oooh, yes … good boy … good boy._

I struggled to hide my smile at Crookshanks' thoughts. It was a good thing Ron wasn't looking at me.

Ron pointed at not only Crookshanks but Hermione with a sneer on his face. "I know that cat killed Scabbers. All that's left is a tuft of fur and a bloody smear on my sheets. Your cat has been stalking him for months! Who else would it be?"

"Crookshanks has never killed a rat in his entire life! Mice, yes; rats, no! Besides, he knows not to hurt the animals here. I told him so!" Hermione argued back.

"Like he can understand you! He's a damn cat!" Ron took a menacing step forward, to which I countered him by stepping in front of Hermione. "Oh, right, the great Edward Masen defending the weak! Keep that cat away from me or all he'll be is fluff!"

Ron stormed off back to his dorm to finish getting ready for classes, so Isa and I spun around to face Hermione, who had a few silent tears streaking down her face. Isa started to run her hand up and down Hermione's back, trying to help calm her down.

"Please tell me Crookshanks didn't do it," she pleaded with me.

I gently placed my hands on Hermione's shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "He didn't do it. I had asked him not to. All I asked him to do was follow Scabbers and keep an eye on him. You were right; he's never attacked a rat, and he wouldn't hurt a pet here at school. Crookshanks knows better."

Crookshanks maneuvered in her arms until he could smooch her face and let out a loud purr. _Good boy, Mum, good boy._

I smiled and reached out to scratch behind his ears. "You are a good boy, Crookshanks."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you, Edward. Come on, Crookshanks. I think you should spend the day on my bed. Stay out of trouble." Hermione walked up the stairs to put her cat away, softly cooing at him the whole time.

 _I hope the rest of the day is quieter,_ Isa had thought quietly while we waited for Hermione to come back downstairs. I nodded with her thoughts but had a feeling we wouldn't be so lucky. But what did I know?

Once Hermione came down, we made our way to the Great Hall for breakfast. What I noticed was that Ron—who had stormed down here before Hermione had returned from placing Crookshanks in her dorm room—had eaten and then disappeared. Usually, he was one to stuff his face until he was almost bloated from the amount of food he had eaten. I shook my head; I shouldn't be concerned with what Ron was up to.

Halfway through breakfast, which was quiet thanks to the events of the last few days, the owls started to deliver the mail, as per usual. What was unusual was that Neville was delivered a letter. His gran was famous for not sending him anything during the school year, sometimes he was lucky to receive birthday card.

"Oh, no. Gran's sent me a howler. What have I done to deserve this?"

All of our heads swiveled in his direction in horror. We all remembered Ron's howler from last year.

 _Go, Teddy. Take him and go before that thing starts talking._

"Got it." I stood up and quickly moved down the table to where Neville was sitting. "C'mon, Neville. Let's get out of here."

"Yup." Neville followed me out of the hall while I used my talent to find the closest empty room.

"This way." I guided him around the students, down a near corridor, and into an empty room that was used for first year classes. "This one's empty."

I closed the door after Neville had followed me in and watched in silence as he walked toward a desk and sat, looking at the howler that his grandmother had sent him.

"It'll start begging soon, won't it?"

Neville sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just can't think of what I've done wrong to make her mad this time."

"Has she ever needed a reason before?"

"No." Neville gave a sarcastic laugh. "Why would this time be any different?" With another sigh he opened the envelope before dropping it on the table in front of him.

I frowned as I heard a new mind stand outside the door just before the envelope started to talk. I didn't have the time to figure out why Emmett was standing there.

 _Neville Longbottom,_

 _What's this I hear about you losing the passwords for Gryffindor Tower enabling Rabastan Lestrange to gain access!_

 _You are supposed to be the Chosen One! I don't care that the so-called Harry Potter has returned. YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE! BEHAVE LIKE IT!_

 _YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU ARE NOT MY GRANDSON. I DON'T WANT YOU HOME THIS SUMMER …_

The howler continued to throw insult after insult at Neville, who stood frozen, with shoulders slumped, and just let it berate him.

 _Is this what he had to put up with on a daily basis at home?_

I was about to step forward when Emmett barreled through the door, stormed over to the offensive howler, snatched it from the air, and tore it into pieces. Neville and I were in complete shock as Emmett stood there, breathing hard with his back to us.

"Emmett?" I asked.

 _Just give me a minute, Edward._

"Okay." I pulled Neville back a little because I wasn't sure what Emmett was going to do. "Let's just leave him for a second."

Neville nodded; he was still a little in shock, from both the howler and Emmett bursting into the room. We waited quietly for Emmett to calm down. Although, when he spun around, I could tell he was still on the verge of losing his temper.

"Alice told me I needed to be here this morning, that I needed to hear something because it would change Rose's and my life, but I wished she'd given me some warning. I didn't know it would be like this."

"Emmett. Stop. You aren't making any sense. What are you talking about?"

"Our house has been completed." Emmett held up his hand when we went to congratulate him for it. "We've been talking about what we wanted to do when it was done. Something we've been talking about, in depth, is fostering some of the children in the Middle House where Rose works. Giving them a home, both magical and muggle, and letting them grow up with love. Take a few in at a time."

"That's great, Emmett! But what's that got to do with today?" Neville asked when he stopped.

"Alice and Esme have been a great help with setting things up at home and helping us go through the files of some of the children. But Alice burst into our room this morning, telling me I had to come to the corridor outside this classroom this morning but wouldn't tell me why. But now, I understand." Emmett turned specifically to Neville. I caught the direction of Emmett's thoughts and took a step back in shock. "Neville, I cannot, in good conscious, let you go home to someone who's that abusive. Nobody should live that kind of life. I'm going home to Rose tonight to tell her about what's happened, and we're going to start the process to bring you home with us at the end of the school year. I'm going to guarantee it."

I wasn't the only one in shock. Neville's mouth dropped open. "You … huh … wha … huh?"

If my shock weren't just as big as Neville's, I might have laughed at his incoherent babbling.

As it was, all I said was, "I second what he said," while pointing at Neville.

Emmett walked over and placed his hands gently onto Neville's shoulders and bobbed down to look him directly in the eye. "You aren't going to go home to that abusive environment; I couldn't, in good conscience, let you."

"So you and Rose are going to … what did you call it? Foster me?"

"It's what happens in the muggle world," I said, snapping out of my shock. "I don't know if it's done here. Instead of adopting and having them take the family's last name, the fostering family still bring them in, raise them, and help them because they can. They offer love, money, and safety. Fostering is usually done because they can't adopt the child."

"I wouldn't have to go home?" Neville asked in a small voice, his legs almost giving out on him. Emmett and I each grabbed an arm and guided him back over to the chair he was sitting on before. "Never?"

I chuckled softly with Emmett before he answered. "Well, we would take you to get your things and anything that your gran has stored of your parents, but no, after that, you wouldn't have to go home. Unless you wanted too."

"I have no idea what to say. Thank you doesn't seem to be large enough."

"I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore and see if I can head home today," Emmett murmured. "Find out what you can." _Neville didn't lose those passwords, did he?_

I slightly shook my head to Emmett's silent question.

Emmett nodded. _Did anyone actually ask him about them?_

I shook my head again, starting to get mad because I could see where Emmett was going with this.

 _You're going to find out what happened, right?_

"Absolutely, Emmett. I'll let you know what I find out."

"Good." Emmett turned back to Neville. "Don't worry, Neville. It'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay, okay." Neville breathed. "Thank you. I can't thank you enough."

"There's no need. See you guys later." Emmett almost ran out of the room. He was in a hurry to get home and talk to Rose.

Neville and I sat for a bit longer, waiting until he'd gathered himself, before we stepped back out into the corridor. As much as we had wanted to keep what had happened a secret, it seemed the population of Hogwarts knew anyway. People in the corridor must have heard then passed it on to their friends. It just snowballed from there.

So, by the time we'd made it to the library between breaks, everyone knew.

 _Have you had any luck finding out how Gran found out, Edward?_ Neville asked silently as he sat down.

"Not yet. But, I have an idea. It'll have to wait until this afternoon."

Neville nodded and sat at the table, pulling out some work to get done.

I was about to pull out my work, like Isa and Neville on either side of me, when Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny walked through the door followed by Professor McGonagall. That would not usually cause me to pay attention to her thoughts, but it was the quick flick of her eyes in Neville's direction that caused me to pay attention.

When she looked away to address Madame Pince, the librarian, a memory played out in her mind.

It was the night that Gryffindor Tower was broken into, and she was sitting with Ron in the hospital wing. He had just finished telling them what had happened when Professor Sprout waddled into the room.

"Albus, Minerva, can I please have a word?"

"Of course, Pomona," Professor McGonagall replied. "Excuse us, Mr. Weasley."

The three professors moved away from Ron but not so far that he couldn't hear them talking, even in whispers. Professor Sprout relayed what she had been told when she had spoken to Sir Cadogan about Lestrange having a page of the passwords on his person when he came to the door of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"So someone had been writing the passwords down and lost them?" Professor McGonagall clarified.

"Yes, Minerva. That's what Sir Cadogan told me. I couldn't believe it either."

"Thank you, Pomona. It shall be looked into immediately." Professor Dumbledore promised. Professor Sprout left as Dumbledore turned to McGonagall. "I shall have to report this incident to the Ministry. I trust you will follow up on this news."

"Of course, Albus. I'll do it right away."

Professor Dumbledore nodded in thanks then walked out of the hospital wing, presumably to his office to write the Ministry. Professor McGonagall walked back over to Ron.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"Um …" he started hesitantly. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I just thought I should let you know that I know who was writing down the passwords."

"Who was it? You must tell me."

Ron hesitated again for a split second, and I frowned, wondering why. "Neville Longbottom, ma'am. He was complaining about Sir Cadogan changing them so much that he couldn't keep track of them, so he was writing them down so he could remember them."

I was jerked out of McGonagall's thoughts by Isa calling my name and waving her hand in front of her face. "Teddy? Where did you go?"

"Sorry, Isa. I got caught up in _my_ thoughts. What's up?" I knew if I emphasized the _my,_ she'd know I was hearing someone.

Isa looked up at me, concerned. "Nothing; it's just that you were zoned out." _What did you hear?_

"Something I need to go deal with. I'll fill all of you in after I've spoken to Professor McGonagall," I growled. _I should have known it was our head of house who wrote to Neville's gran._

The mention of our professor's name caught everyone's attention, but it was my growl that had their thoughts running wild.

"Excuse me." I exited the library without drawing too much attention to myself before following Professor McGonagall, who had exited the library much faster than I had thought. She was quick enough that I didn't manage to catch up with her until she'd already walked through her office door.

Professor McGonagall wasn't paying attention to her surroundings; that was until I slammed the door behind me. She spun around with her hand over her chest and a gasp on her lips.

"Oh, Mr. Masen, you frightened …" She trailed off as she looked up into my face. I can imagine I looked almost murderous. "Mr. Masen?"

I paced to and fro in front of her office door, trying, and not succeeding, to pull my thoughts together. "Professor McGonagall, I've admired you from my very first Transfiguration class. You've taught me so much in my time here."

Professor McGonagall frowned. "I sense a 'but' coming."

"But do you send letters home to parents without confirming the information you are told beforehand?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the letter you sent home to Neville's gran. Did you even investigate Ron's claims, or did you just send the letter home that night?" I growled, spinning to face her and flinging my hands out.

"Mr. Masen, you need to cal …"

"Don't tell me to calm down, _Professor_. I know Professor Dumbledore asked you to look into Sir Cadogan's claims of Lestrange having the passwords on a paper. I know Ron told you they were Neville's, that he'd written them down and lost them. I also know you didn't ask one student, friend or foe, in Gryffindor to confirm. Did you really take the word of someone who is known to lie? Who has proven it time and again?

"Did you know that Neville—sweet, innocent, never does a thing wrong, Neville—got a scathing, mean, and totally abusive howler this morning from his gran who told him to never, ever come home? All because you didn't investigate what Sir Cadogan had said like you were supposed to!"

I was breathing hard by the end of my rant, and Professor McGonagall was completely in shock, still trying to take in everything I had said.

"I want you to know that it was _not_ Neville who lost the passwords. I know for a fact Neville has never written down a single one. And had you investigated the claim, or asked one of us from Gryffindor about what Ron had said, I would have shown you this piece of paper I'd found beside Ron's bed." I walked over and slapped the piece of parchment, with the passwords written on it, on the table next to Professor McGonagall, word side up. "And I would have told you that these passwords are written in Ronald Weasley's handwriting. He was the one who had written them down, and he was the one who lost them, letting Rabastan Lestrange into Gryffindor Tower."

Professor McGonagall fumbled for a few minutes before she managed to speak in a strangled voice. "I'm sorry, Mr. Masen. I thought Ron was reliable; he has been better this year, at least in his classes. Why would he lie?"

I snorted, but started pacing again. I had to try to work off this angry energy. "To hopefully make you do what you did, for you to fall into his trap, and to cover his ass. He didn't want to get into trouble for losing the passwords; why else would he lie? Why did you take his word at face value, especially because you know everything that's happened between us and him?"

"I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe hoped that he'd changed, plus I was shocked with everything."

"I know this break-in has caused the castle to go into shock, but that is no excuse for you not to do your job. You have caused a huge unrest for one of my friends, professor, and irreparably damaged an already abusive relationship beyond measure. I think you're a great professor, but you are a human being, and human beings make mistakes. This was a huge one."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "It seems I have much to make up for. Shall I talk to Neville's gran?"

"Don't bother. We're pulling him from that environment. He'll be living with Emmett and Rosalie. But I'm not the only one you should be apologizing to, or Neville, for that matter."

"No. I'm afraid I'll have to explain myself to Professor Dumbledore too. This was … something I never wanted to do."

She was worrying about how to break it to Professor Dumbledore, but my biggest question tumbled out of my mouth before I'd even completed the thought. "And who is going to tell Neville? He deserves to know."

I finally ranged out my hearing while she was thinking over how she was going to do just that, only to hear that my argument had been heard loud and clear once again.

"God damn it!" I shouted, causing Professor McGonagall to jump in shock. "You're off the hook with telling Neville. The people in this castle spread rumors faster than anything I've ever seen, or heard. You might want to follow me, professor."

Although, I didn't know how she was going to manage to keep up. I spun to the door so I could fling it open. I paused only slightly at the frozen faces on the other side before I bolted down the corridor at vampire speed. I poured on every bit of speed I had as I raced down the Grand Staircase, leaping when I had to because the stairs were in the wrong place, before I made it to the bottom of the staircase. I looked up to see that Professor McGonagall was only a quarter of the way down, although who knew what she'd do to get to the bottom.

I could hear the argument coming from the courtyard from where I was, even without my vampire hearing. And it seemed, so could everyone else because they were making their way out the huge doors to see what all the commotion was about.

I could hear Hermione, Isa, Ginny, and Luna pleading with Neville to leave it alone. I could hear Ron and Neville arguing at the top of their lungs, drawing every bit of attention their way. Which was odd for Neville; he hated being the center of attention. And then there was Harry and the twins. Harry was standing by Neville, supporting him quietly. He was furious at what Ron had done. The twins though, they were egging on a fight. They were like every single boy in every single school I had ever been in.

Young, dumb, and so immature.

I walked out of the door to see Isa's eyes change from her brown to the pure silver, which showed her magical prowess, as she aimed her wand in their direction. She didn't say any spell in particular but a bright light shot out of the end; with that light, every person who was chanting "fight, fight" in the circle surrounding Neville and Ron had their mouths taped shut.

I chuckled at her, causing her to spin in my direction.

 _Edward,_ she sighed. _Is it true? Did Ron really tell Professor McGonagall that Neville lost the passwords?_ I nodded. _Damn. And McGonagall really went straight to his gran?_ I nodded again as I finished making my way over. _Why? Why didn't she confirm?_

"Shock," I whispered. I took my final step up next to her. "Neville, don't; he's not worth it."

"Why don't you keep your big nose out of it, Masen?" Ron yelled. "This is between Neville and me."

"What did you do it for, Ron? Why not tell the truth?" Neville argued.

"Because he's incapable of it! C'mon, Neville, leave it alone. Let's go back inside," Ginny pleaded.

Ron pointed at his sister with a sneer on his face. "You don't know what you're talking about. Get out and go back to your little friends."

The others who were chanting out loud before for a fight were still chanting it in their heads. They wanted a fight.

"Why, Ron?" Neville asked one more time. "Do you know what's happened because of your lie?"

"I don't care! I'm not in trouble, and I didn't get into trouble; that's all that matters."

What Ron didn't know was there were several professors making their way out of the castle doors at the exact moment he spouted those words. Including Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore.

But it was also those words that snapped the last straw for Neville. While Ron was reveling in the limelight that his words had caused, Neville balled up his fists, closed the few steps between them, pulled back his fist, and let it fly.

Everyone in the courtyard was shocked, completely shocked, that Neville threw a punch. But what surprised them more was the moment Neville's punch connected with Ron's jaw, you could see the comically baffled expression on Ron's face just before he went down

Ron was out like a light, and Neville had been the one to throw a knockout punch.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **GO NEVILLE! What do you think about them apples?**

 **See you in a fortnight!**


	14. Chapter Thirteen - Final Quidditch Match

**Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good fortnight. Mine was better than some of the previous ones I've had. I managed to score a job yesterday as relief staff for an Early Learning Centre, which means that I am on call in case one of the Educators get sick or can't come in. On the plus, this means that I'm working in my field of study, and I'm getting experience. Woo hoo!**

 **My thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally, as always, for making this look as good as it does, and trying to keep me on track with my writing. It doesn't always work but I love you guys for it all the same.**

 **Harry Potter and Twilight belong to JK Rowling and SM, no copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See you at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen – The Final Quidditch Match**

For someone who normally stayed out of the spotlight, Neville seemed to enjoy being the one to knock the living daylights out of Ron. All the Gryffindors were furious at Ron for what he had done, and the trouble he had caused Neville, even his friends Dean and Seamus, who had stayed with him even after he was held back. Although I wasn't sure that would last long. Considering they hadn't been friends to start with, they had certainly made large strides in that department.

Ron had stayed knocked out for several hours, spending that time back in the hospital wing. And when he woke up, he had a broken nose and two black eyes. Sure Madame Pomfrey could have repaired them, but Professor Dumbledore decided to leave Ron with them as a reminder. He also hoped it might teach him something; the rest of us didn't hold out much hope for that.

Professor McGonagall had also been handed a punishment of sorts. Professor Dumbledore had decreed that she should write apology letters to all involved in what had happened. Including Neville's gran and Arthur and Molly. Neville was remarkably accepting of what had happened. He accepted Professor McGonagall's apology with a surprising amount of grace and continued on as if nothing had happened. When he was asked why, Neville explained that the best thing had come from her mistake—getting him out of his gran's house.

Emmett's and my memories of the howler had been used as evidence against Neville's gran at the Wizengamot, which Neville had to attend via a special invitation to testify against her. By the end of the session, Neville was removed from his gran's care and placed into Rose and Emmett's. They were approved as foster parents, a first for the wizarding world, for not only Neville but other children as well.

Emmett and Rose had decided that, for now, Neville would be enough. They wanted to give him time to settle in before they looked at fostering more children. I was hoping this might be enough for others to do the same thing so there wouldn't be so many innocent children living in the Middle House.

"Hey, Edward!" Harry called, pulling me from my thoughts. We were on the carriage that took us to Hogsmeade. We'd decided that with all the drama surrounding us we wanted to get away for the day. "Where did you just disappear to?"

I smirked. "Just reminiscing about Neville's punch."

Neville and Harry cracked up laughing. "I can't believe I did that," Neville murmured.

"I can. What he did was despicable. Instead of owning up to his mistake, he blamed someone else to cover his ass. It's typical Ronald Weasley behavior. Now that he's been found out, we might have to be careful about retaliation."

Harry tilted his head sideways, smiling at the laughter coming from Luna, Hermione, and Isa. "You think he might try to get back at us for his error?"

"It's always a possibility, given his attitude." I shrugged. "Who knows what he's capable of?"

We were quiet for a bit while the girls continued to chatter and giggle at the other end of the carriage.

"What are you planning on doing today?" Hermione asked Isa.

"We're going to see the Shrieking Shack today. Wanna come?"

"Oooo, isn't that supposed to be the most haunted building in all of Britain?" Luna asked in her dreamy way. "Although, it can't be more haunted than Hogwarts."

"Ain't that the truth." Isa nodded. "Like how many ghosts do we actually need?"

"Apparently, more than our fair share." Hermione snorted. "But that sounds cool. We haven't quite made it to the shack yet. We always manage to get sidetracked by something else in town."

For the rest of the ride, the girls chatted while the boys just relaxed. When we reached the edge of Hogsmeade, we disembarked from the carriage and continued on through town. Today was simply just a day for getting away from everything, and the six of us were intent on enjoying it. As we ambled through, we were distracted by a few things, like Zonko's and Honeydukes, but eventually, we made it to the road that led to the Shrieking Shack.

"Do you think we can get inside?" Isa whispered excitedly as she came up to my side and wrapped herself around my arm. I leaned over to kiss the top of her head, which was level with my shoulder. I couldn't get over how tall she had gotten. If she grew too much more, she'd be as tall as me.

"I don't know, baby girl. Why? Do you want to?"

"I'd love it! I want to know why they call it the Shrieking Shack. It just can't be because of ghosts."

"You don't think so?" Isa shook her head to my question. "No, neither do I. But I don't know that we can get any closer."

"Guess we'll find out!" Isa was more excited than I had seen in a long time, causing me to chuckle at her antics. I so loved it when she was happy. Hermione and Luna came up alongside her, grabbed her other hand, and skipped along the road singing their own song. Isa let go of mine and followed along with them.

"Doesn't that ever get annoying?" Neville asked.

"Which part?"

"The swapping between your Bella and the Bella she shares with everyone else?" Harry nodded along with Neville's question before blurting out his own. "Or being with you then going off without you?"

I chuckled at both of them. I could see that hormones were going to hit my friends soon, and they were asking for their own benefit, not mine. "No, definitely not. I love that she has a way with me and a way with everyone else. But it's not even that' she relates and acts differently with everyone. She has one way with the girls." I pointed over to the three of them laughing, smiling, and singing. "One way with you boys, and she's even different with family. But the most important is the way she is with me. The way she behaves, talks, and interacts with me, shows me just how much she loves me. Besides, I really like to see her act her true age because she's usually so damn grown up."

"Huh," they both murmured. It seemed I had given them a lot to think about. I chuckled as they zoned out, thinking about what I had told them.

The thing I found interesting about walking along this road was that in town it was loud. There were people, thoughts, and voices around that were always talking or thinking. Even in town, there were birds and animals making noise, but out here, there was nothing. The kids stayed away, except for those who were curious—like us—but the animals even stayed away from here. It was silent, completely silent. Not only that; it seemed like the temperature was dropping; the closer we got to the shack, the cooler the outside temperature became. It was certainly interesting.

"Oh, wow …" I heard Isa whisper from ahead of me. "That place looks like the scary kind of haunted."

"There're different kinds of haunted?" I asked when I stopped beside her.

"Of course, there is," she scoffed. "There're the clean nice places, like Hogwarts, that have nice friendly ghosts."

"Even Peeves?"

I could see Isa trying not to smile; she fought it valiantly and won. "Even Peeves. And then there's this. It looks like it would fall down around your ears. It hasn't been looked after, which only makes it that much creepier. So, yes, scary kind of haunted"—she pointed at the shack before pointing her thumb over her shoulder—"not scary kind of haunted."

I laughed at her reasoning. "Okay then. Are we gonna try to get …" I was interrupted by some malicious thoughts coming from behind us. Everyone spun to look at me, knowing I would only stop if I was hearing something. "You four wait here. We're about to have some visitors." I grabbed Isa's hand and sped us up over the rise off to our right to hide.

 _What's going on?_

"Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle are coming up the road. Draco warned me that the other two were wanting to cause trouble. He's going to stand back and only say something if he has to."

 _Okay. What are we going to do?_

"Let's see what happens first."

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Crabbe spoke out. _Where did that vampire go? I want some payback._

 _Crabbe said that stupid, bloody vampire was here, where is he?_ "Shopping for your new house, Longbottom, since you don't have one now?"

 _Oh, that was below the belt!_ Isa growled in her mind. _I can't let him get away with that._

I growled low in response to their words and their thoughts. "They wanted payback for the Quidditch match."

Isa snorted. _Really? Well, let's give them payback._

We peeked over the rise to see that Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had their backs to us. I didn't see what Isa had decided to do, but just as Crabbe was about to talk, Isa drew her arm back before throwing a mud-ball. It flew with perfect aim, smacking Crabbe right on the back of the head. We both ducked when the three of them, Draco included, spun around in our direction.

 _Edward? That you? Of course, you can't answer me. Oh, I know, throw the next thing at me if that's you._

"I'll take the next one."

 _Okay, Teddy._

"You're really going to bring up what happened with my gran?" Neville asked. "You must be a special kind of stupid to do that."

"You calling us stupid? What right do you have? My father will hear about this!" Draco shouted, giving me my cue.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, I stood and lobbed a mud-ball directly at the middle of Draco's back. On purpose, to make it look good, I made sure it was kinda sloppy. Okay, maybe not, but he didn't have to know that.

Isa giggled quietly when I bobbed back down because we could hear the squelch from where we were. And I couldn't help but laugh at Draco's thoughts.

 _Ewww, Edward! Did you have to? I may have to get you back for this over the summer. Be prepared._ Out loud though, he said, "What the hell was that? And where is it coming from?"

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle began to look around as Isa and I started to throw mud-ball after mud-ball.

 _Let's have a little fun, shall we?_

I looked over at Isa to see that she had a mischievous little look on her face. I blinked, and she was gone. I looked over the rise to see a mud-ball come flying from a different direction, then from another one. I caught onto her thoughts and realized she was using her speed to circle the clearing to throw the mud-balls from every direction. I chuckled and followed her example. Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco spun in circles, always one step behind us.

Harry, Neville, Luna, and Hermione were laughing hard when the three so-called bullies tripped all over themselves trying to get away from the flying mud, which was only aimed at them.

 _Oh, oh, I have an idea!_ I read Isa's thoughts and nearly gave away my position because I laughed out loud.

"Let's do it, baby girl!" I whispered, rushing over to the Shrieking Shack.

Isa was right; it really was falling down. I would have to be careful how I handled this. When Isa was in position after throwing the last mud-ball, I started to bang on the walls. I helped the Shrieking Shack make some of the most ungodly noises. Once I'd been doing that for a few seconds, Isa used some of her Siren powers to imitate a ghost—or banshee—and started wailing, LOUDLY. She really was magnificent, and a little bit scary.

Hermione, Luna, Harry, and Neville were startled at first because they hadn't been expecting it. And really, Isa had freaked them out a little earlier with her talk about it being the scary kind of haunted. Although they nearly fell all over themselves—in laughter—when Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle fled from the scene of this particular demise.

Why do bullies never learn? I know Draco had to go along with it all, to hide the fact that he was working for our side, but you'd think with as many times as we'd foiled Crabbe and Goyle's plans, they would have learned not to mess with us by now.

But nobody ever said bullies were a smart bunch.

"Oh, my God, you guys!" Hermione almost cackled when she saw Isa and me appearing from behind the Shrieking Shack. "That was hilarious. Did you see how filthy they were?"

I chuckled at their reaction because it really was funny. These were the parts I had missed out on. We should have been able to handle bullies at the other schools we had gone to; maybe there wouldn't be so much hate in the world now if we had. Or maybe there might be more; it was a slippery slope I was leaning toward. I think we just had to deal with the ones we had right now.

There would be time to deal with all the death eaters later.

The five of us were laughing so hard, and so distracted, that I missed the approach of a big, black, scraggly looking dog until he placed his cold nose against my hand to get my attention, causing me to actually jump. Of course, everyone saw my reaction to Sirius trying to get someone's attention, and they all burst out laughing again. Even I had to let out a chuckle because, if it had been anyone else, I would have been laughing too.

"What up, dawg?" Harry chuckled when we all looked at him like he was nuts. "What? I love Emmett's stupid sayings. Sometimes everyone here is so prim and proper!"

 _I used to think so too,_ Sirius thought. _Come with me; I want to show you something._

"C'mon, guys. We have something we need to see."

Sirius led the five of us around the rise that Isa and I had been hiding behind before. Isa grabbed hold of the hand with the one that wasn't holding Hermione's and smiled up at me.

"Yay, an adventure! I love adventures." Luna cheered as she grabbed Hermione's other hand. "Do you like adventures, Neville?" Luna looked back over her shoulder at Neville, as did Isa and Hermione. I looked through Isa's thoughts to find Neville blushing, which caused the girls to giggle.

"I … uh, sure. I like adventures. I like to look for rare plants too."

Luna nodded. "That does sound fun. I go on adventures all the time trying to find all sorts of different creatures. Sometimes, I even get lost and Daddy has to come find me. Would you find me if I got lost, Neville?"

Hermione and Isa giggled again at the look on Neville's face. I wasn't sure it could get any redder. I looked over at Harry to see him trying to hold in a laugh. Sirius wasn't doing it at all, but luckily, it all came through my mind.

"Well, Neville?" Harry asked. "Would you find Luna if she was lost?"

"Um … sure?" he answered, sounding like he was asking a question.

 _Poor, poor Neville,_ Sirius thought. _He has no idea what he's in for with that one._ Sirius looked over at Hermione, who was throwing surreptitious glances in Harry's direction, not that he was noticing. _In fact, neither does Harry. It took James so long to figure out his feelings for Lily too._

I chuckled, which caused Sirius to look up at me. "Not everyone is as lucky as a vampire."

 _Or a Veela apparently. Okay, just through here._ Sirius walked through what looked to be a hillside, but what I realized was it was actually an opening to a cave, disguised as the hillside, and had vines hanging down over the side. By the time we all walked through the opening, Sirius had changed back to his former self, and we also discovered James and Remus chilling out on boulders as well.

"Welcome to our little secret." James stood, spreading his hands out wide.

"What are you talking about, Dad?"

James sighed and sat back down on his rock. "We told you during the summer about how we figured out what Remus was, and how we became animagi so we could help him." We nodded when James looked up at us. "What we didn't tell you was that we—including Dumbledore—decided that staying on the grounds was probably not a good thing."

"Yeah, a werewolf with all those healthy innocent victims around, definitely not a good thing." Remus snorted, winking over at Isa and me. He obviously hadn't told James and Sirius yet, and I wondered why. By all accounts, things were going well, and it looked like he might be cured of his lycanthropy. But I suppose I could understand; he wanted to make sure before getting their hopes as high as his. That also made me wonder why they hadn't heard him when Remus had transformed. Couldn't other animagi hear each other?

"So we helped to create the legend of the Shrieking Shack!" Sirius finished.

Isa shook her head. "That doesn't tell us much. What do you mean?"

"You lot are hopeless." I laughed at their disgruntled faces. Their thoughts were wide open, so I could see everything. "When Remus started at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore helped to make a tunnel that connected Hogwarts—via the Whomping Willow—to the Shrieking Shack. It became known as the Shrieking Shack because of the noises Remus would make when he was shifting into his werewolf form. When the others were able to turn, Remus showed them the tunnel, and then they all made noises to cover what was going on. Hence, how it got its name."

"Ooohhhh," everyone said together. "But that still doesn't explain what we're doing here in this cave." Hermione stated afterward.

"Once we were able to get things under control, both with our animagus sides and Remus's wolf, we decided we didn't just want to go to and from the shack or Hogwarts. So we did something that not even Dumbledore knows about," James explained while he walked over to another boulder. Or what I had thought was a boulder. James tapped the top of the rock with his wand only for it to disappear and a hole in the floor to appear. "We made a side tunnel from the original one to this cave so we could leave whenever we felt like it."

We all walked over to peer down the hole, only to see it did end in a tunnel. Left went toward the Shrieking shack and right toward Hogwarts.

"That's all well and good," Neville began. "But have you tried to get past that tree lately? It's a menace!"

James, Sirius, and Remus burst out laughing. "That tree has always been a menace!"

Once they calmed down, Remus explained. "Whomping Willows are notorious pains in the asses. But that one has a special trick to it. On the roots that are folded out of the ground, you can see a hole or what looks like a hole under them." We all nodded while I frowned, seeing what he meant in his mind. I'd seen that but never even contemplated what he was saying. "Good; above that hole, on the gnarled roots, there's a knot. If you fire a stunning spell at that knot, you'll freeze the whole tree, enabling you to get inside. The point is not to get too close, so you have to make sure you aim well."

"Huh. Who would have thought? But why are you telling us now?" Isa asked the question that had crossed my mind.

The three of them looked at each other, having a truly silent conversation because they'd closed their minds.

Sirius sighed. "With the appearance of Lestrange in the tower, we have a feeling things will be coming to a head soon. We want you guys to have a place to go, a place to hide, if need be."

"And a place to bring him and confront him if it comes to that." I pointed at the three adults. "And you want us to be able to hold him until you get there. Revenge, guys; we've had this conversation."

I listened to them trying to argue their point, but really, they had none. Although while they tried, I pulled out the sketch I had drawn earlier this week. With everything that had happened, and with what they had told us over the summer, I wanted to confirm my theory.

"Enough, please. I know you want to get back at them for what they did to Lily; I understand it even. But if you were to go through with it, where would the three of you end up?"

"Azkaban," they all grumbled.

"And that's the last thing we need." They all pouted like little children. "Now, to take your mind off things, I need you to look at this and tell me who this is."

"Not what?" James asked.

"No, who." I handed the sketch over to Remus, who froze as he looked at it before he stiffly handed it over to James. His reaction was very similar, as was Sirius's. But with their minds closed to me, I didn't know if their thoughts had confirmed what I was thinking.

The sketch went around the others in the cave with us.

"Isn't this Ron's rat Scabbers?" Harry asked. "It looks like him."

Neville agreed with a nod. "Why do you have sketch of Scabbers?"

"Because he isn't Scabbers, is he?" Isa concluded as she looked at James, Sirius, and Remus's frozen forms.

Hermione frowned, as did Luna. It was the latter who asked the pertinent question. "If he's not Scabbers, then who is he?"

"Ooohh," Hermione groaned. "Edward thinks he's Peter Pettigrew. Is he right, Professor Lupin?"

Remus's shoulders slumped from the stiff position they had been in. "He's right. I can't believe we'd never seen him with Ron before. What gave it away?"

"Would you believe his lack of thoughts, at least to start with?"

Everyone looked at me with confused looks, well everyone except Isa. So I spent the next while explaining that the only time I didn't hear thoughts coming from animals was when we were transfiguring them in class, in the owlery sending a letter, or when I was around Scabbers. Every animal has at least minimal thoughts.

Which then made me wonder what they were, if they weren't animals.

"As the year wore on, and as Crookshanks followed and chased him some more, the shield or barrier to Scabbers thoughts started to slip. It was then I realized that Scabbers was using Occlumency to hide his thoughts, and the only people I know who can do that are wizards or witches. That was when I started putting two and two together. I just wanted to confirm my suspicions with you."

"Do you know where he is?" James growled. I wasn't surprised by this. If anyone had a bone to pick with Pettigrew, it was him, but I wouldn't let him retaliate in a way that would put his safety in jeopardy.

"Not at this moment, no. It looks like he might have staged his death once more and disappeared. After Lestrange broke into Gryffindor towe …" I trailed off because something had just occurred to me about that attempt on Harry.

Isa looked up at me, curious. "What is it, Edward?"

"I don't think Lestrange broke into the tower for Harry. I'm thinking that being in Ron's dorm wasn't an accident."

"Are you thinking he went there on purpose? For what? Ron?"

I shook my head as I started to speak. "No. I think he was there for Pettigrew. Lestrange is the type to first go after revenge."

Harry groaned. "And Pettigrew is the reason Voldemort isn't around anymore. Peter is the reason Voldemort was vanquished because he sent him after me by giving out our hiding place."

"And that's why Scabbers, or Pettigrew, has gone into hiding," Neville concluded. "So what do we do now?"

We all looked toward the "adults" in our midst. But it was Sirius who answered the question. "We keep going, doing what we've been doing, and hope we catch up with Peter before Rabastan does. And I promise, Edward, that we won't do anything to end up in Azkaban. Once we catch them, they'll both be going to prison."

~*~UHS~*~

Easter had come and gone at Hogwarts, and two-thirds of the students had stayed to enjoy the festivities, including Isa and me. Even Hermione, Luna, Harry, and Neville had stayed when they didn't have to. Instead of enjoying the festivities that Hogwarts had put on, Harry, Hermione, and I re-created some of the muggle ones we had enjoyed growing up.

We had plenty of chocolate eggs, so we staked out a section of the grounds and organized an Easter egg hunt. I had Emmett track down some Hessian bags, and I set up a sack race. The look on Isa's face had been priceless, especially while I had been trying to explain what they had to do. I almost hadn't been able to explain because I had been laughing so hard. If it hadn't been for Harry grabbing a bag and showing her then we may not have been able to even play the game. She still didn't get the whole point but had a ball outracing everyone who had joined in.

It was amazing how many wizarding children hadn't played any of these muggle games before.

After we'd done those, Hermione had decided to organize a game that we could sit down and play. She'd had Esme source dozens and dozens of plastic Easter eggs and had set up a table with them laid out.

"The whole point of this game is to make a tower. So you split the eggs in half—there's a break in the egg to pull them apart—then stand them on top of one another. You aren't allowed to use magic! All you have to do is build a tower and see how far you can get it. The one with the tallest tower at the end of two minutes is the winner!" Hermione explained.

We all laughed as we took our seats around the table and pulled handfuls of eggs toward ourselves. There was more laughter as friendly fights broke out around the table over who had more eggs than someone else.

"All right, everyone. Ready, set, go!" Hermione called out. She was the judge for this round of games.

Let me tell you, those little half eggs might be easy to stack, but they are bloody hard to keep up in a tower. For a while, we all laughed as they continued to fall over but after a bit that changed and our competitiveness started to come out. We all went quiet, although, according to Hermione, our faces were fierce, even if some of us had our tongues sticking out of the corner of our mouths. She found that particularly funny.

The best part was not one person at that table could produce silent magic on a regular basis, so nobody was able to cheat.

"And time! Hands away from your towers."

"But mine will fall over!" Neville laughed.

"Too bad, so sad," Hermione told him as she stood in front of the table with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. "Let go."

We all turned to watch Neville as he let go of his rather tall tower, only to laugh as it fell, just as he predicted. In the end, it was Luna who beat us all because she'd actually managed to use pieces that were all the same shape to make her tower.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Isa whined.

I laughed. "Because that's not the point. It's about having fun and the towers falling over. Essentially, Luna cheated."

"Did not," her voice floated down from the other end. "I just think differently than all of you. Besides, I would never!"

One of the last games we played was the egg and spoon race. It was another one that the people of the wizarding world thought was absolutely pointless.

"Why does the game have to have a point?" I had asked. "It's a race. All you have to do is hold the spoon in your hand, balancing an egg, then race to the other end. The first there with their egg on the spoon—unbroken—is the winner. If you drop the egg, you have to start over; if you drop it and break it, you're out. It's just fun."

By this time we had amassed quite a few spectators, even some of the professors, and even more who wanted to join in. So instead of having one line of runners, we decided to make it a relay race where the person running would swap at the other end with the next, and they'd race back to do the same until there was no one left to swap with. Isa and I had been excluded because of our speed, so we were going to be the referees of this one.

"The only rules are stay in your own lane and don't try to trip anyone else. Any breaking of these rules, you and your team will be disqualified. Ready … set … go!"

Each team had four people on it, and it didn't matter what house they had come from. It was all about friendships and having fun. Harry's team consisted of himself, Neville, Luna, and Hermione. The others who weren't participating were cheering on their friends from around the course we had set up.

It was pandemonium, and it was brilliant fun. There was the cheering, the laughing, and of course, the good-natured heckling from the contestants. I hadn't had this much fun in ages!

In the end, it was a group of Ravenclaws, made up of Cho Chang and her friends, who won the egg and spoon race, but it wasn't by much. Harry's team came in a very close second. It seemed that Harry was almost as fast on his feet as he was on his broom. It's possible that Harry's team may have won if it wasn't for Luna dropping the egg—dropping it, not breaking it—because she was swatting at the wrackspurts flying in her direction. Even if her grandfather had said they weren't dangerous, it didn't seem like she wanted them anywhere near her. I still couldn't see the buggers, even if she could.

Yeah, we'd had a ball enjoying the Easter games we'd played, but where we were heading was serious. We were on the way out to the Quidditch pitch for the final match of the year. Instead of it being the year's opening match, the derby between Gryffindor and Slytherin would close out the year and determine who'd win the cup as well. It was going to be one hell of a match.

"Think we'll win today?" Isa asked as she and Hermione bounced along beside me. Neville was following us but talking to Ginny and Luna.

"I think we have a damn good chance as long as Slytherin doesn't cheat too much."

Isa snorted. "You think they will after what happened last time they tried?"

"They still have a debt to settle for that and for what happened at the Shrieking Shack. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried."

 _What's Draco thinking?_

I shook my head after listening for a bit.

 _He's got his mind closed again?_ I nodded to her question. She pouted a little. _That's not helpful. How are we supposed to know what's going on?_

"He has to be loyal to his house, Isa." I chuckled. "There's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, even if there is cheating involved. It teaches us to play hard; it teaches us that the world isn't fair. That there are winners and losers; people don't want to lose. And he's on the team; he wants to win. If it were anything bad, he would tell us. Of that, I have no doubt."

 _But I want to win too._ I laughed at her putout face.

"Me too. But we're going to have to do it properly."

It was an amazing sight to see when we made it out to the Quidditch pitch. Almost all the students had made it to their seats, but the amazing part was three-quarters of the spectators were decked out in Gryffindor maroon and gold. There were lions all over the grounds and banners with "Go, Gryffindor, Go" flying from just about every spare space around the pitch. The only places that the maroon and gold couldn't be seen was where Slytherin house was sitting. They were there in the green and silver, snakes flying high and proud.

"Think we'll get a fairer game today than other times we've come up against them?" Hermione asked, taking her seat next to Isa.

"Madame Hooch is hoping to umpire it that way. She wants a fair game, and she's sick of the cheating they get away with," I answered as I looked around to see that all of my family was once again in attendance.

 _Hey, Edward,_ Emmett called out to me. I looked up so that he knew he had my attention. _Those dementors are some scary fuckers. I came across a group of them in the forest yesterday. They were searching for something, but I'm not sure what. If it wasn't for the fact that I froze, both breathing and moving, I think they might have come after me. I don't know that I want to come across those things again._

That was interesting. How did they find their prey if they couldn't see what they were searching for? I mean they didn't even have eyes. And if Emmett could stand still and not attract their attention, what did? Looks like there was more research in my future. I wanted to know what made them tick and if there was a possible way we could kill them.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOD MOOOOORNING, HOGWARTS!" Lee's voice blared out of the speakers once we reached ten-thirty. "Welcome to the final match for this school year. It's the one we've all been waiting for since the injured reserve game switch at the beginning of the competition. Yes, it's the derby between Gryffindor and Slytherin!"

The cheering around the stadium was insane, and I was right there in the middle of it. It was awesome.

"We all know this is Oliver Wood's last year, not only at Hogwarts but as the Gryffindor captain. Well, he wanted to go out with a bang, and I'd say that has certainly happened. They've made it this far, but can they go all the way? Welcome the GRYFFINDOR TEAM!"

Again the cheering was nuts. Three-quarters of the stadium waved flags, pom-poms, and signs. The noise was almost enough to drown out the booing coming from the Slytherins, even to my vampire ears. Believe me; it takes a lot to be able to do that!

"Then, of course, we have our opposing side. Captained by Marcus Flint, for hopefully the last year. He seems to have gone for size over swiftness for this last match as most of the team is much larger than what we are used to. We have the SLYTHERIN TEAM!"

Once again, the sound from the stadium was insane. Of course, this time there were more boos than there was cheering. Not that I wasn't right in there doing the exact same thing. I couldn't believe how much I was enjoying this. I'd never been one to sit down and watch sports with Emmett and Jasper, but I could certainly see what I was missing out on.

Lee was right, though, because Marcus Flint had gone for big, bulky, stupid, and mean. I'd seen these Slytherins around Hogwarts, and they were nasty to the other students. I could see it as a bad combination when it comes to the tactics they liked to portray on the pitch.

"And of course, we can't forget our illustrious referee, the great MADAME HOOCH!" Madame Hooch walked out to cheering, gave a little wave, and then stood by the trunk that held all the balls for the match. "This match is brought to you by the wonderful professors here at Hogwarts; for without them, we wouldn't be at school." Lee chuckled at the end of his spiel. "Looks like Madame Hooch is ready to start the game. She's calling the captains forward for the initial handshake … then they're off. The balls are released, and the game has begun!"

"I can't believe we have to wait until we're fifty points up before Harry can catch the snitch to win," Neville whined. "I hope we can do it."

We all looked up as the teams started to fly around the pitch, trading possession of the quaffle.

"Looks like Slytherin won't be avoiding cheating," Isa murmured as Madame Hooch pulled up Marcus Flint for deliberately running into Alicia Spinnet after she scored the first goal.

"Nope, doesn't seem so."

"And Alicia scores the penalty goal for that abhorrent attack on her by the Slytherin team … yes, yes, Professor, I can be unbiased … that makes it twenty-zero Gryffindor!"

We continued to listen to Lee's commentary as the game continued on all around us. It seemed that the Slytherin team was going to do anything to keep on top of the ladder. After another unprovoked attack on Katie Bell—by sandwiching her between the two massive beaters, who walloped her broom with their bats—who scored another goal for Gryffindor, the Gryffindor's started fighting back.

"It seems the underdog for this match isn't going to take this blatant disregard for the rules lying down," Lee commentated as Fred Weasley was pulled up on a penalty for throwing his bat like a boomerang at one of the chasers of the Slytherin team—and bonking him on the head—before catching it on the return to belt a bludger at another chaser before the penalty was called. What we found funny was that the Slytherin team called foul when it happened, not liking our cheating any more than we liked theirs—talk about irony.

"Flint is taking the penalty, and he takes off across the pitch … he's going to have a hard task going up against Wood because Wood's a superb keeper … Flint takes the shot … AND IT'S BLOCKED. WOOD HAS BLOCKED THE GOAL!" Lee shouted into the microphone. "It's still thirty to zero for Gryffindor!"

For a while, the play went back and forth with the teams trading not only plays but insults and penalties, with neither of them scoring a goal.

"Slytherin has the quaffle, and they're flying down the pitch with it … The Gryffindor chasers are trying to get them back … Alicia is blocked by one of their beaters who nearly knocked her off her broom … The quaffle is being passed from chaser to chaser … OH, MY MERLIN, I don't know how that can be fair … The Slytherin beaters have just pelted the bludgers at Oliver Wood, both of which have hit him in the stomach!"

We watched as Oliver grabbed his stomach and tilted over on his broom, coughing.

"Wood has managed to hang on, but the damage has been done. Slytherin has scored. But the score is still against them with it being thirty to ten for Gryffindor. Now it's Gryffindor's turn with the quaffle … Katie is flying up the pitch … passes it to Alicia … who has passed it back to Katie … OI, THAT WAS DELIBERATE, THAT WAS!"

There were boos around the pitch as we watched Montague—one of the Slytherin chasers—fly into Katie, but instead of grabbing the quaffle, he grabbed her head, pretending it was the ball. She dropped the ball, of course, and one of the other Slytherin chasers grabbed a hold of it before Madame Hooch blew her whistle, calling for a foul.

"With another penalty for Gryffindor, Katie Bell lines up for goal. And she scores! Forty-ten for Gryffindor!"

 _This is getting ridiculous._ Isa thought as she cheered for the goal Katie was able to get around the Slytherin keeper. _Someone is going to get hurt if we can't get enough of a lead soon._

"Tell me about it. I think the Slytherin team is getting desperate, even Draco. He's not even looking for the snitch; he's just following Harry around," I murmured.

 _How is that going to get them … Oh, he's going to try to race Harry for the snitch._ Isa frowned. _Harry's broom is far superior. It isn't going to help him any._

I snickered. "Maybe he has a little of his dad in him. He might be looking for a way to cheat."

Isa's mouth dropped open. _He wouldn't._

"Why not? There's nothing dark about it. It's how they play, and by doing it, he's keeping his cover. But a little healthy competition is never a bad thing."

Isa snorted. _Pfft healthy._

I laughed then cheered when Gryffindor scored another goal bringing the score to fifty to ten our way. One more goal and Harry could go after the snitch. But that was when things went from bad to worse, or it would have, had it not been for Harry.

Angelina had gotten her hands on the quaffle and was streaking down the pitch, but what was unusual was the fact that instead of chasing her down, the entire Slytherin team was racing toward her. Every single one of them, except for Draco. Angelina froze, unsure what she should do; that was, until Harry came streaking past her on his Firebolt, aiming for the oncoming Slytherins.

He barreled toward them like a bowling ball going for a strike, with Angelina now confidently following behind him. Every single person in the stands cheering for Gryffindor burst into laughter because the Slytherin team screamed and scattered when Harry didn't pull off or away in the face of their advance, leaving the goal posts wide open for Angelina to score the goal we needed to be enough in front to win the cup should Harry catch the snitch.

"GOAL SCORED! Gryffindor is now in front, sixty to ten!" Lee Jordan screamed into the microphone, making Isa and me cringe at the volume.

"Look! Harry's seen the snitch!" Neville yelled from behind us. "What is Malfoy doing?"

 _Oh my, Merlin. He's cheating!_ Isa screamed in my head, really making me flinch. But I looked up anyway to see that Neville and Isa were right. Draco had seen Harry make a run for the snitch, and in a last ditch effort, he had lunged forward and grabbed the tail of Harry's broom to slow him down.

I chuckled because it was really ingenious, only to hold my hands up in supplication when everyone spun to look at me. "What? It was a brilliant idea. I'm not entirely sure it is cheating, to be honest, just a distraction. And one that worked."

Harry had lost sight of the snitch when he turned around to glare at Draco. What I found funny was that Draco wasn't even the slightest bit sorry; he was happy the game could continue on for a little bit longer, hoping he could get to the snitch first. Once Draco let go, Harry zoomed off. He decided he was going to stay as far away from Draco as he could get. Regardless of their friendship, Harry wasn't happy with Draco, at all.

Even though everyone else was upset, I still found it funny as hell. Apparently, I wasn't the only one because Emmett and Jasper were being scolded by Rose and Alice for laughing about it too.

Harry managed to get away from Draco and sat at the other end of the pitch, moving when Draco moved, and watched what was happening with his teammates. Gryffindor managed to stay fifty points ahead, matching each of Slytherin's goals with one of their own. But it was that distance that put Harry at the disadvantage when the snitch made its next reappearance.

The Gryffindor chasers had managed to get a couple more goals when the snitch appeared behind Draco. Draco had managed to close half the distance between himself and Harry. But he had caught Harry's quick look of excitement and spun around to see that the snitch appeared almost exactly where he had been sitting before he moved. Both of the seekers pelted after it, but Harry had twice as much distance to cover. This was where his Firebolt would come in handy.

"C'mon, Harry!" "Get the snitch, Harry!" "Go, Harry, go!" was screamed from different points around the pitch as we watched them both flying for the snitch.

Draco was smiling, reaching out for what he thought was the winning catch. But Harry had flattened himself against his broom, making himself as small as possible and creating the least amount of drag that he could. And it was working; he was gaining on Draco faster than anyone had ever done before.

We were all cheering and screaming as Harry reached Draco's ankles, then his knees. They were ten feet from the snitch when Harry pulled up alongside Draco, and they started pushing and shoving each other for the lead. It seemed that Draco was going to get to the snitch first when Harry did something he'd never done before; he slapped Draco's hand out of the way—at the very last second—and snatched the snitch right out from under him.

"HARRY'S DONE IT. HE'S DONE IT. GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

The result from Lee's shouting into the microphone was absolute pandemonium. We'd been considered the underdogs for this year, and we'd come from behind to win against the biggest cheaters of the league.

Isa, Hermione, and Luna—who had sat with us with her massive lion hat on—were jumping around screaming with their hands in the air. Neville was yelling and clapping his hands while I was joining in with a lot of "woohoos." And we weren't the only ones. Everyone who was not a Slytherin was joining in with the cheering.

What a fantastic ending to Quidditch for the year. We won the cup, Oliver got the win he wanted for his last year, and Percy got his ten galleons from his girlfriend.

Couldn't have gotten any better than that.

~*~UHS~*~

For the next week, the Quidditch final was all anyone could talk about, even when we were supposed to be studying for our upcoming finals. Harry was surprised by the amount of people who came up to him to congratulate him and the others on a great match. Ron, Seamus, and Dean even did so, although Ron didn't say much.

With Fred and George attempting their O. , or Ordinary Wizarding Levels, and Percy facing his N.E. , or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, they were studying harder than ever. Which was why I was completely surprised when Fred and George chased me down on the way to the library one day; I thought they'd already be inside.

"What's up, guys?"

"Can you and Bella meet us at the Room of Requirement in an hour, please?" Fred asked.

"Uh, sure. What's this about?" They'd both successfully managed to block their thoughts from me, not something they'd ever done before, and I wondered if they'd been practicing when we weren't around.

Fred and George smiled at each other. I realized this was their first foray into keeping me out, and they were happy they'd succeeded. "Nothing," they both answered together before George continued, "Just meet us there in an hour?"

I nodded, watching with amusement as they both ran off together. Something was up.

An hour later, Isa and I made our way up to the seventh floor corridor to find that Fred and George were already there, pacing anxiously.

"Oh good, you came," they both breathed together. "Shall we go in?"

They had already had the door appear and ready to go through, so we followed them in and waited for the door to close and disappear again. Isa and I had been watching the door to make sure nothing came through afterward, and when we turned back to Fred and George to ask what was going on, we came face to face with a pair of almost identical foxes.

"Oh, my Merlin! You guys did it!" Isa squealed, running over to Fred and George.

There was only two differences that I could see. One of them was fluffier and a darker reddish brown than the other. I loved that, as twins, their animagus forms were almost identical.

 _What do you think, Edward?_ the fluffy one asked, turning to me.

I laughed because sometimes it was harder to tell the difference between their thoughts than others, and this was one of these times. "Which one am I talking to?"

 _I'm Fred. Fred the Fluffy. Not very manly, I know, but the best I could come up with._

I laughed again because he was right; it wasn't manly. "This is great! But the storm was weeks ago. What happened?"

 _We took a little bit longer to get the transformation down than you did. We started out only changing different parts of us, kind of like when James and Sirius began, but with practice, we got it down. Now we're almost as good as you guys._

Isa was giggling and laughing as George bounced around her, trying to lick her face. It made me smile.

"I'm glad you guys managed to do it. Have you also been practicing Occlumency?"

Fred nodded his fox head. _It took longer than we liked. We've been trying since the beginning of the year. We were so happy we were able to do it, but it takes so much energy._

"I'll bet. Isa was a lot like that when we met. She still needs a nap if she uses it all day. Most of the wizards in the castle can do it but choose not to because of the energy it takes."

 _We won't be using it often either, but it's a good tool to have._

I nodded and watched as Fred bounded over to Isa and George to join in the fun, causing Isa to let out more giggles because she fell over with both of them jumping on her. I sat down on one of the chairs the Room of Requirement had provided and just watched as the three of them played and practiced their transformations, even Isa.

After a while, all three of them turned back into their human forms, laughing.

"That was so much fun!" Isa clapped. "We'll have to do it again!"

Fred and George nodded. "We will. Next time, Edward will have to join us!"

I laughed. "It did look like fun, so maybe I will."

"For now," Fred sighed, "we have to go. With our O.W.L.s coming up, we've got to knuckle down and study."

"Are they that hard?" Isa asked, all wide-eyed innocence.

George shook his head. "Not as hard as the NEWTs, but if we want a good career, we have to do well. Although, we're unsure what we want to do."

"Doesn't matter. Having a good education can only be a good thing, regardless of what you want to do," I agreed. "If you want to get to studying, it's time to leave. There's nobody up here."

We quietly left the Room of Requirement but loudly made our way down to the Common Room. We kept away from topics surrounding becoming animagi but talked about everything else. We were still joking around when we walked through the portrait of the Fat Lady—who had come back to guard the portrait hole after Sir Cadogan had let Rabastan Lestrange in—and came across Hermione, Neville, and Harry, who had been doing their homework.

Hermione was the first to look up. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's great!" Fred beamed.

"Yup. Things are bloody brilliant." George echoed his own happiness before they went to get their schoolbooks.

Harry's eyes followed the twins' progress across the Common Room. "They're acting odd."

"When aren't they acting odd?" Neville murmured, concentrating on his homework.

"I think that's a permanent state of mind for Fred and George. It's just who they are," Isa said as she sat down and pulled her bag over from Hermione—she'd brought it up when we'd left the library.

Harry laughed at her statement. "Yes, it seems to be. But in this case, they're acting weirder than normal. What did they tell you?"

"Nothing that you need to know," I sang. "When they're ready to tell you, they will. Until then, we can't tell you." I sat down next to Isa and pulled out my Arithmancy book. I was going to be attending the final exam even though I'd taught myself. Professor Dumbledore had made the exception, so I wanted to be able to pass. Even if that meant going over every page and rereading all my notes. So be it.

After our discussion, we settled in to study for our finals. I'm glad we'd talked Hermione out of trying to take every subject. I could only imagine how she would have been had she tried doing all of them. At least now, she was only stressed the normal amount. I snorted,well maybe a little bit more. She was Hermione after all.

We'd been studying for a couple hours, almost getting ready to go down for dinner, when we were interrupted by Hagrid's owl Lily, who'd flown through the window and landed on the arm of my chair. She let out a loud hoot when I didn't immediately pay her the attention she had come here for.

I reached over to rub the feathers on her head. "Lily, how are you?" She hooted to my question, causing me to tune in to her thoughts.

 _Hagrid upset. Send me with this letter._ She tilted her head at me. I could see the serious look on her face. _You help?_

I reached down to grab the letter from her talons. "I'll do my best to help him, Lily. Don't you worry. Are you going to stay for an answer?"

 _No. Send Athan or Saffy. Have to get back. Have to help make him feel better._

I gave Lily one last pet on her head before she hooted, softly this time, and flew off through the window, right before Athan came in through it.

 _What's going on? You need me?_

I laughed. "I haven't even read the letter yet. Can you wait, please?"

 _Sure._ Athan hopped from my chair over to where Isa was sitting and planted himself on her homework, pleading for her to love on him.

"What did Hagrid send, Teddy?"

"Let's see, shall we?" I unfolded the letter Hagrid sent with Lily and read it over quietly before reading it to our small group, who had stopped what they were doing.

 _Edward,_

 _I want to thank you—and everyone else—for helping me to organize an appeal for Buckbeak._

 _I've received a new letter from the Department for the Disposal of Magical Creatures, letting me know they'll hold the appeal at Hogwarts on the last day of your finals at 2pm._

 _They have also informed me that there will be a representative from the Ministry of Magic and an Executioner attending the appeal._

 _Does this mean that if we lose, they'll do it there and then? I hope not._

 _I don't want the younger ones there to see it, if it happens. But I was hoping you would be able to attend, at least. I need all the support I can get._

 _Your friend,_

 _Hagrid._

I heard everyone gasp when I read about the representative and the executioner, but it was Isa who blurted out her thoughts in a wavering, angry voice. "It sounds like they've already made up their minds! If they're sending the executioner then they must be planning to go ahead with it, even before the appeal has been presented! How dare they?"

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked before all four of them descended into a—well, conversation might have been the wrong word because they were talking over each other—conversation all the same. They were talking to each other, over each other, and I wasn't entirely sure they were answering any of their questions because they just kept blurting things out.

It wasn't until I let out a loud wolf whistle that they all stopped and turned toward me. "Thank you. Now, until they get here, I can't tell you either way what they've decided. Although"—I held up my hand when the girls went to interrupt—"it does make it seem that they have made up their minds. The best I can do is pay attention on the day they are due to get here, attend the appeal with Hagrid, and help him to answer their questions."

"What are we going to do if they try to execute him?" Harry asked. "It's not fair that he's being punished because of some spoiled kids."

"We'll take him home." Isa was firm in her statement. "We'll explain to Buckbeak that he can stay with us. And we'll convince the _Ministry,_ " she spat the word, "that he's safe there, and he can't hurt any of us. Buckbeak is not a danger to society."

Neville looked around Hermione's shoulders at Isa. "Shouldn't you ask Professor Cullen first?"

"Mum will understand," Hermione murmured. "She'd never turn down an animal or person in danger."

"That she wouldn't," I agreed.

Isa stood and gathered her belongings to put them in my section before we went down to dinner. "Exactly. If we can convince them not to execute him, but they want him to leave school grounds, then we'll tell them that we'll take him home. And even if they want to execute him, we'll take him home. What they don't know won't hurt them.

"Teddy, you write back to Hagrid and let him know that not only will you be there, but the rest of us too, if we can. Because Buckbeak won't be executed. End of story."

I saluted her, trying to bring some levity. "Yes, ma'am."

Surrounded by laughter, I put pen to parchment and write a letter back to Hagrid. We would support him through this, and then he'd be able to visit Buckbeak at Swan Manor. He'd never have to worry about his safety, ever again.

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **I think Harry came through for Gryffindor, don't you?**

 **See you in a fortnight.**


	15. Chapter Fourteen - Finals Week

**Hello everyone! I am so sorry this is late, I'm in the midst of packing my things to move house next weekend, and this was the first break I've had since dinner. I hope that everyone has had a good fortnight.**

 **Only two more chapters to go after this one!**

 **My thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson, you guys rock. You have no idea how much you two mean to me, and for all the hard work you put in. Thank you.**

 **Harry Potter and Twilight belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement is in intended.**

 **Let's get to it...**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen – Finals Week**

The castle was almost eerily quiet in the weeks leading up to our finals, if you were walking around. Most of the students were serious about passing their finals and were taking every opportunity to review and read over everything they had learned over the year.

Oh, but the amount of panic I heard—not just in people's thoughts—come Monday morning, was ridiculous. It didn't help that everyone knew Ron had been held back for not passing his finals the year before, or that the same thing had happened to Marcus Flint, causing him to have to repeat his final year.

I don't think I'd ever heard this much panic in a muggle school before when it came to testing time.

And it wasn't just those outside our group, either. It seemed the panic had hit Isa and Hermione that morning as well. I had thought it was just them until we'd made it down for breakfast and found Luna pacing in between the tables, trying to let out her nervous energy.

"Girls, I need you to calm down," I soothed, pulling Luna over to our table and sitting her down with Hermione and Isa. "You've all done your work. You've studied everything you can study and reread all your notes. I have no doubt in my mind you will all pass with flying colors. I don't see one failed grade among you."

"Even me, Edward?" Ginny asked when she sat own next to Hermione.

I smirked at her because I knew something about Ginny the others didn't, and she'd sworn me to secrecy. "Even you, Ginny. I have no doubt you'll do great, as well."

Isa squealed in her thoughts. _Oh, it's happening, right, Teddy?_ I nodded. Okay, so I wasn't the only one to know. Besides, it wasn't like I told her; Isa overheard Ginny's conversation with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

This week was going to be interesting in more ways than one.

"Ugh. This week is going to be hell," Harry whined.

"But we'll do it." Neville nodded. "What's first?"

Isa pulled her schedule out of her bag and laid it out for everyone to see. "Um, it looks like we have Transfiguration first up. I wonder what we'll have to do this year."

"Only one way to find out," I said, reaching for a cup of coffee and filling my plate. "Let's have some breakfast and get to class."

Everyone nodded before doing just that. We were mostly quiet while eating breakfast, which gave me time to reach out with my mind reading. Everyone was on edge because of their finals, but that was about the only thing crossing everyone's mind.

I hadn't heard hide nor hair from Lestrange or Pettigrew, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be that way for much longer. We didn't have much time left at Hogwarts, and if they were going to make their move, it would have to be soon. It was as frustrating as it was relieving. At least, they were waiting until the end of the school year. I snorted softly, catching Isa's attention. I shook my head, letting her know it was nothing before going back to my thoughts. How considerate they were, letting us worry all year long, just to fret during our finals.

The audacity of both of them.

"Time to go." Isa stood as she picked up her bag. "Professor McGonagall doesn't like it when we're late."

"What's happening after Transfiguration?" Hermione asked, following Isa while the boys and I trailed behind.

"Oh, Arithmancy follows this, then after lunch is Charms and Ancient Runes," Isa replied after consulting her schedule again. "It's kind of all over the place today."

"Busy day for you, Edward and Hermione," Harry noted. "You have to take all four today, don't you, Edward?" I nodded to his question. "How many others do you have?"

"I still have to sit all of the regular classes like Herbology and Potions, so I'll be sitting finals every day. My other elective, Care of Magical Creatures, is tomorrow with the rest of you. Easy."

Neville snorted. "Sure, easy."

I laughed. "Not the finals. I meant the schedule. It's not that hard, really."

"Just remembering which one is on which day; that's the hard part. My memory isn't as good as yours."

"And that's why we have schedules written down, Neville!" Isa sang from in front of us. "That way you can keep track of everything. I'm going to put a tick next to each final as I complete it. That way I keep track of the day, time, and what ones I've taken. You'll be fine."

We were almost at Transfiguration before anyone—besides Isa and myself—noticed that we had an extra person with us.

It was Hermione who noticed first. "Ginny? What are you coming with us for? Don't you have your own finals?"

"Um … I sat finals for second year last week. I've been doing some extra studying." At that, Isa and I snorted quietly. "Okay, a lot of extra studying, and I convinced Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore to let me take the third year finals."

"What? Why?" Neville, Hermione, and Harry all asked together.

Ginny sighed. "After the events of last year, I wasn't able to make many friends. As much as Gryffindors are friendly, they don't forgive easy either. You guys are my only friends. But not only that, with the extra reading I've been doing, the spells are coming easier. I want to be challenged, and I want to be with my friends and family."

Hermione wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders. "So if you pass all of our finals this week …"

"I'll be in year four with all of you next year." With Ginny's statement, all of us cheered for her, including Isa and me.

"Here's to hoping so! It'll get you away from Ron!" Harry laughed.

"There's that too." Ginny laughed as well.

We all stopped laughing and cheering when we faced Professor McGonagall standing outside her classroom door. "Are you ready for your Transfiguration final?"

There were murmurs of "Yes, Professor McGonagall" from everyone around us.

"Good. Let's get started then, shall we?" Professor McGonagall stepped aside and let us enter the classroom before her. Once we were all seated, she began. "This year, we have been mainly focused on turning inanimate objects into animals and vice versa. So, for this year's final, I want each of you to collect a teapot from the front of the room and begin turning them into tortoises. The catch is I not only want you to turn these teapots to tortoises, but I want you to write down the formula for doing so. This is to prove that you understand the process behind it. You will have one hour to complete these tasks."

Most of the students in the class walked to the front where Professor McGonagall had placed the teapots, but Isa and I pulled out some parchment and quills to start with the theory side of things. Working through that was faster because we would have the fresh formula in our minds when it came to transforming that teapot. I noticed that, after a moment, we weren't the only ones writing. It seemed while Hermione and Ginny had collected their teapots, they had decided to follow our idea and started to write their formulas as well.

It took me ten minutes or so to get mine down, and once I'd finished, instead of standing to collect my teapot, I flicked out my wand.

I pointed it at one of the two teapots left. "Accio teapot," I whispered, calling it to me instead of the other way around. We were in school to learn magic after all.

 _I was going to do that._ Isa laughed in her thoughts before she did exactly the same thing. _Did you read my mind?_

I snorted at her question. "Always," I whispered. "But I didn't get this idea from you. I had planned to do it anyway."

 _Sure, sure._ Isa pulled the teapot toward her before looking at me. _Let's get to it._

While the students turned their teapots into tortoises and back again, Professor McGonagall walked around the classroom to inspect their work. Her thoughts were very straightforward. She was grading as she went, critiquing each person's wand movements and the way they said the spell as they cast it. When she reached our table, she stood in front of us, observing the six of us individually.

I could see through Professor McGonagall that, while we were all performing admirably, Ginny was having a harder time than most. Not that that was surprising; she hadn't learned this in class, only what she had read and practiced on her own.

Ginny's tortoise sometimes blew steam through its nostrils, other times—when she'd turned it back into a teapot—it was colored like the shell of her tortoise. At one point, its neck was really long, or the teapot had legs. But eventually, she managed to get it right more often than not.

"Mr. Masen, Miss Swan. You both may leave. Place your teapots back where you got them and your parchment on my desk."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," we replied, turning our tortoises back before doing as she requested.

 _Are we going to wait outside again?_ Isa asked as she placed her parchment down.

"I think so. I want to see how Ginny goes."

 _Okie dokie. So because we're leaving first, does that mean we've passed?_

"Pfft, of course. Well, at least, the practical. Did you really think you'd fail the practical part?"

Isa sat down next to me outside the classroom. "No, I didn't. But we do have an unfair advantage."

"I don't think so." I pulled her in close to my side. "Look at Ginny. She applied herself and managed to convince two professors to let her take the finals for a year above her grade."

"You think anyone who applies themselves is able to do what she did?"

"No. Not everyone. Sometimes someone can only apply themselves to the year level or work they're doing. Other times, people can do what Ginny has done, or us for that matter. Then there are people like Ron who want things to come to them easy, or with a small amount of work. There are always going to be different people who do things different ways. We may have photographic memories, we may be capable of thinking of more than one thing at a time, but that doesn't make us any better than someone who can apply themselves.

"Besides, I've seen some lazy vampires in my time. Those who just didn't care for the rules or learning how to better themselves. In fact, I'd say most of them are that way. They don't care enough to realize that just because they're bloodsuckers doesn't mean they have to be murderers. There's good and bad everywhere. There're also those who will coast along and those who will try. Different people are what makes the world go around."

"And it's the ones who are bettering themselves all the time that end up making something of themselves," Isa concluded.

I nodded. "Exactly."

Isa leaned her head against my shoulder, just listening to what was going on around us. Most of the castle was once again quiet, except in thought, but that was okay. It didn't take long for other students to start leaving Transfiguration. First, some of the other Gryffindors, then Hermione and Harry, who joined us on the bench to wait for Neville and Ginny.

"How are they doing?" Harry asked after we'd been sitting there for a while.

"Really good. Professor McGonagall isn't letting them go just yet because she knows Neville has had a hard time previously, and because Ginny hasn't had any classes—at least with her—on the subject. But she's about to let them go … now."

We stood and waited for Neville and Ginny to emerge, and the smiles on their faces said it all. They felt they had done well, and I knew they had. The only thing we all had to pass now was the theory portion of the final, and we wouldn't find out about that until the owls arrived over summer break.

"Oh, Ginny!" Hermione and Isa cooed, wrapping her up in their arms before linking them. "How do you think it went?" Hermione asked as we boys dropped into step.

"I'm glad that's over," Neville sighed. "That was one of the classes I was worried about."

"I don't know why," Harry murmured, trying not to interrupt the girls, who were being quiet as well. "That's one subject you're really good at."

Neville nodded, then shrugged. "Maybe, but the only one I'm confident in is Herbology. What about you, Harry?"

"Um, I think Charms is the one I'm least worried about." Harry smirked in my direction. "And we all know Edward is an ace in Potions."

I laughed. "That I might be, but it's also the one that bothers me the most, mainly because of the teacher."

They both nodded, but we stopped when we reached the split in the corridor, and the girls turned toward us.

Isa looked up at me and then to Hermione. "This is where we separate. Good luck on your Arithmancy, guys."

"Thanks. See you at lunch!" Hermione grabbed my hand, so I waved with the other hand and walked away with Hermione. "Let's go ace this test."

"Let's."

~*~UHS~*~

"Phew, I'm so glad that's over." Isa pretend collapsed on my arm after we walked out of our Ancient Runes final. "I think that was the hardest one today."

"And it's just the start." I chuckled, causing Isa to slap my stomach. "We've still got three more days of finals to go."

"Ugh, I know. These are only going to get harder as we go along, aren't they?"

"That is the point. The higher in knowledge we go, the harder the testing should be. How else will they make sure we can do what they've taught us?"

Isa nodded against my arm as she wrapped her arms around it. "True. Do you think we'll keep up?"

"I don't think we'll have any problem. And I don't think our friends will either. We're just going to have to study more every year."

"Even with our photographic memories?"

"Just because we remember everything, doesn't mean we can't sometimes lose the context of it. Studying and rereading only helps us remember what we need to use things for," I explained as we started down the stairs toward the portrait of the Fat Lady. "But in saying that, I'm glad today is over. I need the mental break."

Isa looked up at me sharply at my comment. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I just want some quiet."

"Then we're going to the Room of Requirement tonight, and I'm going to extend my shield. If quiet is what you want, then quiet is what you'll get."

"Not all night." I shook my head. "I can't, in good conscience, not listen again all night."

"Okay, then. An hour." Isa held up a hand when I went to argue. "Just an hour, and we'll do it in the Common Room, so you can see if anyone comes in."

"That, I can work with." I leaned over and kissed her head before I whispered, "I couldn't love you more if I tried."

Isa was about to answer when we were interrupted by another voice. "Awww, you two! If I could get out of this painting, I would just want to smooch you to pieces. You're so adorable!" the Fat Lady said.

"Hi, ma'am. How have you been today?" Isa giggled as she asked.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. How did your finals go today?"

"Well, I think. Hello, ma'am." I nodded in her direction. I respected her because she was one of the very few who never judged me. "But we never do know really."

"Oh, pish." She waved her hand at me. "You're going to do fine. I know you will. What I really want to know is how did Ginny do? The grapevine here among the portraits is amazing!"

Isa groaned. "I'm surprised we managed to keep it from the others as long as we did. The grapevine at Hogwarts is amazing. But she did well, right, Teddy?"

I nodded. "I don't foresee a problem. She'll do very well, I think."

"Oh, good!" The Fat Lady clapped. "I so do love it when Gryffindors do well," she said before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Besides, she deserves not to have to share her classes with her brother."

Isa and I laughed. "Too true, ma'am."

"You two must be bushed. I'll let you in; rest up before dinner!"

"Thank you," we both replied as she swung open to let us enter.

All our friends were waiting inside, having finished their finals earlier. Instead of studying, like I had expected, they were all flaked out on the couches around the Common Room. I could tell from their thoughts that the day had worn on them as much as it had worn on Isa and me. It looked like it was going to be a quiet night all the way around.

~*~UHS~*~

"I wish I'd been in all of your classes this year. I would have loved to have seen all the animals I only read about." Ginny sighed as we made our way out to Hagrid's hut after breakfast the next morning. "I bet they were beautiful."

"Some of them were," Hermione agreed. "But then some of them were downright disgusting too. Like the flobberworms or the salamanders. But others were wonderful, like Buckbeak, the hippogriff. I wonder what we're going to be tested on and how."

I smirked from the back of the group where Isa and I were walking hand in hand. I could feel her look up at me, so I chanced a quick look down.

 _You know what we're being tested on, don't you?_ I nodded to her question. _Care to share with the class?_ I snickered quietly and shook my head. _It's going to be something Hermione hasn't enjoyed, though. That's why you're finding it funny._ This time it was Isa who shook her head. _You are such a typical big brother._

I beamed at that. It was nice to be a big brother and to have the little sister to protect and pick on. It had never been like that with Alice and Rose because they hadn't needed it, even after what happened to Rose and the way she was after she was turned. She'd handled everything with her ex-fiancé all by herself, and had she asked, I would have helped.

This time it was Isa who snickered quietly. _It's good to see you act like Emmett and Jasper occasionally. But I love that you don't have to stoop to that often to have fun._

"No, not often," I whispered.

"What are you two talking about back there?" Neville asked loudly, catching our attention.

"Nothing!" we both sang, bursting into giggles while the others looked back at us with amused expressions.

"Uh huh," Hermione said sarcastically.

By this stage, we were almost at Hagrid's hut, and we could see the strain that the whole case with Buckbeak had had on one of our favorite professors. He was scruffier than normal, unkempt, and he looked like he might not have washed in a few days. His body was curled in on himself; it was almost like he was half his size, and that was a feat considering how tall he was. His movements were lethargic, like it took all of his energy to lift just his head to look at us when we approached. It seemed—despite our reassurances that we could save Buckbeak—Hagrid had all but given up before we had started.

 _Ohhh, Hagrid,_ Isa thought sadly. _We aren't going to let it happen. You have to trust us._ I could see she wanted to force her thoughts into Hagrid's head, but it wasn't one of her powers.

"He'll be fine, sweet girl," I whispered against her head. "Especially after Buckbeak is safe. I have a feeling we'll have a new visitor over the summer."

 _No doubt._

"Welcome class," Hagrid stated, subdued once all the Gryffindors and Slytherins were there. I could hear Draco's thoughts from the back of the group. He could see the difference in Hagrid, and his guilt was eating him alive. He knew this was his fault because of the part he had to play, and he hated it. I wondered whether we could let Hagrid in a little over break so Draco could apologize. "Today's final …" Hagrid sighed, then coughed a little to clear his throat. "For today's final, yeh will have to keep an animal assigned to yeh alive for the entire hour. That animal will be a flobberworm."

"Oh, gross," Hermione whined, causing all of us to snicker at her.

"Just follow me," Hagrid mumbled and started leading the way to the patchwork paddock he'd set up in the forest behind his hut. He pointed to the squares. "Pick a worm, and I'll do a countdown to start the hour. Those who have their worms alive at the end of the hour pass their final."

Our group—and farther away, Draco—watched in sad silence as Hagrid walked with a slumped posture to the end of the paddock and folded into himself on a rock that was placed there.

 _He just looks so defeated. Does he really think we can't win?_

Isa and I walked over to a spot near our friends, including Ginny, as we watched Hagrid sadly. "I think, sweet girl, he's so used to having things taken away from him, by people in authority, that he just accepts it. He wants to fight but has no idea how to; he'll perk up when he sees me there."

Isa looked down at her flobberworm. "These things pretty much take care of themselves. When he's finished the countdown, I'm going to talk to him. Cheer him up."

"Me too," Ginny and Hermione said together before laughing a little. "He needs to know we haven't given up and that we won't either. He needs to know that he has us in his corner, even if we have to keep reminding him," Hermione finished passionately.

I smirked. "Okay, you girls do that; the three of us will take care of the flobberworms."

Once Hagrid had started the exam, Harry, Neville, and I sat and watched the worms. There really wasn't much else to do but leave them to their own devices because if we did anything with them, they'd probably end up dead.

"Do you really think we can save Buckbeak without resorting to that other thing?" Harry asked quietly after looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to us.

"To be honest, I have no idea." I shrugged. "The fact that they're sending a representative from the Ministry, as well as an executioner, doesn't lend me much hope. Which is exactly what Hagrid is feeling. But then, they haven't come up against me either."

Neville tilted his head at me. "What do you mean?"

I looked over at Isa to make sure the girls were all right. They were cheering up Hagrid, and that was what he needed. "At school, in the muggle world, we were taught to argue, to become what we called lawyers; it was a profession. I took a few of these classes on one of my many trips through college. It was something I was good at, and I plan to use these lessons to help Buckbeak. That and my extra talent will come in handy."

"You were taught … to argue?" Neville asked dumbfounded.

I laughed because his thoughts were as dumbfounded as his face. Neville didn't understand why we were taught to argue, when it was something that should come naturally. But then, he thought about it; arguing wasn't something he'd ever contemplated doing before he became friends with us. He'd been too afraid to.

"Huh," Neville huffed. "I guess that's something I could have used."

I chuckled again. "It's not that sort of arguing, but yes, it is helpful."

We were quiet for a while. Watching the others in our class pretend to pay attention to the flobberworms when, really, they were using the hour to muck about. Draco wasn't the only one in our group to have noticed Hagrid's preoccupation, and they were taking advantage of it. Granted, most were reading for other finals they had this week, but some were planning to misbehave. I rolled my eyes. We only had a week or so of school to go; couldn't they give it a rest until next year?

Harry chuckled from in front of me, pulling me back to where he was sitting. "What?" I asked.

"I could see your thoughts written all over your face." He chuckled again. "Let me guess. The Slytherins are plotting something."

"When aren't they plotting something?" I answered, causing Neville and Harry to laugh.

A few minutes later Hermione, Ginny, and Isa walked back over to us with small smiles on their faces. I smiled back at my girl. "I guess by these beautiful faces things were a success with Hagrid?"

"He's perked up, yes," my girl answered. "I think he'll be okay."

Hermione nodded. "He knows we're all here for him. Besides, we sorta told him we had plans, no matter what happened."

"He got the picture," Ginny said as she looked back at him. "He gets what we were hinting at, even if he was a little upset that we had planned to do it."

"He's a teacher; I'm not surprised he's upset at the prospect of what we're planning. But if it needs to be done, it will be." I reached out to pull Isa onto my lap.

 _At least, the worms survived. The hour is just about up._ Isa gave me a cheeky look. _Did they prepare you for fatherhood?_

I laughed, loud, at her thoughts. "Not even close, sweet girl. I'll be really surprised if any of our future children are as easy to look after as this."

Isa frowned. _What's that supposed to mean?_

 _Oops. I kinda put my foot in that._ "Uh, well … it's just that kids are hard to look after. Plus, we're both kind of stubborn, and …" I trailed off when I saw Isa's lips twitch. The little devil was teasing me. "Why you!" I reached out to tickle her sides, causing her to squeal and our friends to laugh. But what caught my attention was that Hagrid had stood from his slumped posture and was standing proud at the front of the group.

"That's it; yeh hour is up!" Hagrid called out to cheers. "Yeh all have kept yer flobberworms alive, so yeh all have passed. Congratulations!" There were more cheers when Hagrid had finished. "Now, off yeh go, and good luck on the rest of yeh finals."

~*~UHS~*~

By the time Thursday rolled around, we'd completed all of our finals except for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and for those of us taking it, Divination and Muggle Studies. It was also the day that Buckbeak was due for his appeal.

Our other finals had gone well. But then, I supposed, it depended on your definition of well. We'd had Potions on Tuesday, after Care of Magical Creatures, where Snape had been in rare form. Because of his repeated attempts at trying to sabotage my potions, he'd been banned from setting up for anyone. In essence, he was there to supervise and make sure nobody used a potion made by someone else. Pokey had been given the expressed orders to set up for every final that Professor Snape had, and he had taken care of it as only a house elf could, with attention to detail and very little flair.

So Professor Snape was worse than his usual aggravated self when we'd walked through the door. And as much as he wanted to say something, he managed to bite his tongue and not say a word. At least, out loud. He was seething internally however. It was so bad that I could still hear him later that night when we went to our Astronomy final in the Astronomy tower.

It made me wonder what would happen when Lord Voldemort did make his comeback. What side would Professor Snape actually land on?

Jasper had been reasonably easy on us by giving us a three-parchment essay on the Medieval Witch Hunts and giving us an hour and a half to complete it. Isa and I were done first, due to the fact that we could write faster, but every single one of our friends was done well before the time was up, even Ginny. I didn't see that she was going to have a problem skipping to our grade. She'd done her homework and was confident in what she was doing.

Instead of looking after a plant for our final in Herbology, Professor Sprout had us working with Diffindo or the Severing Charm. We had learned about it during our second year, but this year, we'd gone into more depth. She had us write an essay about the uses of the charm and how far it could be applied, and then, once we'd handed in our essay, we had three goes to demonstrate the charm.

But for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin was doing something completely different. In fact, we weren't even having it within the castle walls. No, he'd taken us out to the Quidditch pitch.

"Good morning, students, and welcome to your Defense final." Remus had a big smile on his face. "I decided to do something a little different this year. Instead of a written final, I decided to go with a practical one. Welcome to the third year Defense Against the Dark Arts Obstacle Course."

Remus held his hands out to either side of him to indicate what he had prepared behind him. From what I could see, there was a small lake, a field which seemed to be filled with potholes, a marsh was beyond that if the smell was anything to go by, and the course ended behind a solid fence that had been erected. It had a door in the middle of it, but beyond that, I had no idea what the final task was going to be because Remus had his mind firmly shut.

"Now, because this course is rather large, I've asked some fellow witches and wizards to help me keep an eye on you as you navigate it. I'll be taking the first section here with the lake. The field full of potholes will be covered by Madame Lisa Jigger, the marsh will be looked over by Mr. Terence Helga, and lastly, the area behind the fence will be monitored by none other than a Hogwarts celebrity, Newt Scamander."

There were claps, a few cheers, and lots of excited chatter because Mr. Scamander was here. There was more to it, though, than just having him watch the final part of the test. I could tell by the way his eyes roamed over me before flicking up to the stands. I spun to see what had caught his attention, only to have my breath catch when I saw Carlisle and Esme seated there along with Emmett and Rosalie, as well as Molly and Arthur. There were also several other parents and family members.

I spun back to face Remus, but he was now studiously ignoring me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what they were doing here.

"I had sent out invitations to parents and family to come and observe this style of final because it really is the first of its kind. They aren't here to pressure you, so just ignore them and complete the final as it's supposed to be. Now, who wants to go first?"

Not one person in our class, nor Ginny, put their hand in the air. They were all intimidated by what was happening, by what Remus had organized for us.

"I'll do it." Isa's hand shot up into the air. "I'll go first."

"Very good, Miss Swan!" Remus clapped. "Come up here. Do you know how to waterproof your clothes?" Isa nodded and performed the spell in front of everyone without hesitation. "The first task is this lake, full of grindylow. You have to get through the lake, traverse the field with holes full of redcaps, squish through the marsh, trying to ignore the wrong directions from the hinkypunks, and last is to go through the fence and battle the creature on the other side."

Isa nodded, but Hermione spoke up from next to me. "You aren't going to tell us what the last task is?"

Remus shook his head. "I've given you enough hints as to how to pass the final. The last one, I want you to figure out on your own. Good luck to all of you. Bella, on the count of three, you may start." Again, Isa nodded. "One … two … three!"

The second Remus was done counting, Isa waded into the water before executing a beautiful swan dive and disappearing from sight. It really wasn't fair of Isa to go first because most of the creatures we would come up against, including the grindylow, redcaps, and hinkypunks, were actually afraid of us. It came with the territory of being an immortal creature, whether you were an apex predator or not.

 _Edward?_ Remus asked as he came to stand next to me.

"Yes, Professor?"

 _I need you to go last, please._

I frowned, continuing to watch through Isa while she made her way through the lake, as I turned to see Remus. "Why?"

 _Newt isn't here by accident. He's here to help you and to show Carlisle what his actions have done to you. Newt saw something in you when you guys met at the pub, and he's here because he asked to be._

"Okay. I'll just wait then."

 _Thank you._

I turned back when the other classmates let out a gasp. Isa had emerged from the lake, and due to her siren nature, the water had altered her appearance slightly. Due to the fact that she had turned to face us, everyone could see the difference. Her hair, which usually had a slight wave to it, had lengthened due to it straightening, and her eyes had lit up from within; that's what had caught the attention of everyone else.

 _Those grindylow have been warned about us, Edward. Yes, they stay away, but they're bolder than others._ I nodded to her warning and noted the fact that she had called me Edward. It was happening more and more the older she got. I wondered if her calling me Teddy would slow more and become something just the two of us shared.

Isa then spun back around and continued on toward the field of redcaps. She didn't encounter any problems before she walked straight into the marsh. I couldn't help but chuckle at the hinkypunks because there was only one who was brave enough to take a step forward and try to confuse her, only it didn't get that far. The minute it made a move toward her, Isa held her wand out to it. It wasn't that she held the wand at it that stopped it saying anything, but from the hinkypunk's thoughts, it was the power that they could see and feel emanating from her that caused them to second guess it.

I was so proud of her. Although, it didn't give the rest of our classmates any confidence because they could see the power coming from her. I'd known she wouldn't have any problems with the previous obstacles, but it was as she approached the fence and door that I perked up and paid special attention.

 _Hey, Edward?_

I looked over at Hermione to show that I had heard her.

 _Are you going to tell us what we're facing after that fence?_

I shook my head before looking back at Isa, who had just opened the door to find a trunk on the other side.

 _Why ever not?_ Hermione sounded a bit put with this question.

"Well, for one, that would be considered cheating." I paused to let that sink in. "For another, you won't always have Isa and me around to help you find out what's around the next corner. This type of thing will help prepare you for that."

 _Oh._ Hermione thought about what I said for a moment. _Good point. Harsh, but true._

I winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean it to be harsh."

 _That's okay. I know that._

Isa had slowly approached the chest, knowing that something lay within it, something we had to battle. With a flick of her wrist and an "Alohomora," she took a step back and waited while the lid creaked open ominously.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, bright blue flames flew up out of the chest. From the flames billowed purple smoke that permeated the air with a sweet incense-like fragrance. Not knowing what happened, the students looked around bewildered at what was happening behind the screen. It didn't seem like it was anything we had studied.

Isa froze for a second before she gasped as my screaming face appeared in the flames. _Oh, hell, no. It's a boggart._

I'd forgotten that this was the first time our family members, in fact most family members, in the crowd were seeing a boggart. As such, the gasping coming from around the Quidditch pitch kind of surprised me, but it was Esme's sobbing cry of "no" that caught my attention. I looked into the stands to see that Esme was distraught over the visage that Isa had encountered. She was so upset that she was forgetting I was there, at the other end of the field, and not letting Emmett, Rose, or Carlisle comfort her.

"Esme," I called quietly. Her head snapped around in my direction. "I'm fine; please calm down. Isa needs to concentrate. She'll show you that she can handle this."

Esme watched me for a minute more, finally letting the others calm her, before she turned back to watch her baby.

"You're not going to get the best of me!" I heard Isa growl as she pointed her wand at the boggart. "Riddikulus!"

The spell shot out of her wand so fast that I thought it might leave a hole in the boggart when it hit, but instead, the boggart instantly went into the familiar swirling vortex before turning into a different man, dressed up as a hilarious hybrid of wizard and clown—multi-colored robes, rainbow Afro wig, a pointed witch's hat, and large red shoes—who started letting off several different, colored fireworks.

The sight caused Isa to start giggling, and that was when Newt Scamander stepped in. He stepped in front of Isa, and the boggart swirled once again before landing on the ground with a thud as an open suitcase, full of clothes. It made me wonder why that was his biggest fear. With a hardly noticeable hesitation, he walked toward it, clasped it closed and, with a look at its fastenings, placed it back into the trunk with a shudder.

"Well done, Miss Swan," he murmured after he'd completed his task. "You're a very brave young witch. You've completed your final, so you may now go sit in the stands."

"Thank you, Mr. Scamander." Isa nodded her head before she made her way off the pitch and to the stairs that would lead her to the rest of our family.

I stood there for the next hour or so as classmate after classmate took their turn having their go at the obstacle course Remus had set up. I watched as poor Neville made it through the grindylow and the redcaps, only to get completely turned around by the hinkypunks. Then as Hermione made it past everything, only to get completely freaked out by Professor McGonagall stepping out of the trunk telling her that not only did she not complete her coursework, but she failed every single one of her finals.

I knew that wouldn't happen, but obviously, Hermione was really worried about it.

I smiled like a proud parent as Ginny—who had never faced any of these creatures nor learned any spells with a professor present—took her time and completed the obstacles with barely a problem. Again, like Hermione, it was only the boggart that held her up. It climbed out of the trunk as Ron, which caused her to pause ever so slightly, but she took a deep breath and fired off the spell, turning him into a court jester complete with bells on his hat and shoes. I thought it fit his personality.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so because I could hear Fred and George—who had joined their mother and father in the stands—burst into laughter, causing me to snicker at their reaction. Poor Newt had to move fast to put the boggart back in the suitcase because it had begun to vibrate with the laughter coming from their direction.

Harry was the only one of our friends, and almost the last of our classmates to complete the course, who didn't have a problem facing any of the obstacles that had been placed in his path. He didn't even flinch when the boggart turned into a dementor in front of him. Harry pointed his wand, cast the spell, and then moved to the stands with a determination that I'd never seen from him before. He was starting to come into his own, and I was truly proud of him.

"Are you ready, Edward?" Remus asked, coming to stand next to me as the last of my classmates made it behind the fence that housed the boggart.

"I am."

"Good." He paused while the boggart was reset into its case, and when he was given the signal, he patted my shoulder. "Off you go then."

I took the steps toward the lake and looked down. I could see the grindylow looking up at me from the bottom. After casting the spell to keep my clothes dry, I took my first few steps into the water. The minute I did, the grindylow scattered. In fact, they kept themselves scarce, except for a few hissed words, the whole time I was in the water. The redcaps weren't much better; they held themselves as close to the bottom of their potholes as they could. I think if they could have, they might have even buried themselves.

The hinkypunks were different. They were almost confrontational. There wasn't just a single one, like with Isa, but several of them that took steps forward. They were trying to intimidate me. I snorted, looking at these brave, but stupid, creatures. Instead of pulling out my wand, I used my vampiric nature to scare them all off. My growl started low, just a rumble coming from my chest, which caused them to pause. When a few started to come forward again, I let out a louder roar. After that, they stayed as far away as possible while I finished walking across the marsh.

I paused at the door in the fence and looked up into the stands were Isa was sitting with our family. I was a little afraid of what that boggart might turn into.

 _You can do it, Teddy. Don't be afraid of what you might see. You can overcome any fear you have, and I'll be right here to help you._

I nodded to her. Then turned and yanked open the door, taking those final steps toward the chest on the other side. I paused in front of it ever so briefly. I had gained so much by entering this world with Isa, Harry, and the others, so much so, that I was afraid of losing more than ever before. Whatever this boggart was, it was going to terrify me.

"Alohomora." I waved my wand in the direction of the locked chest in the shape I had to make, then I did what Isa had done and moved a few steps backward.

It seemed that due to all the times the chest had been opened that day, it had developed a creak, or maybe that was my imagination. To me, it was like it opened much slower than the other times I had watched it. I held my breath once the lid was completely open while I waited for the boggart to appear. But once it did, I wanted to throw up, or run away; I wasn't sure which.

A dementor, larger than life, loomed in front of me, getting ready to suck the soul—I'd only just come to accept—right out of me. I couldn't help it; I froze long enough that the dementor leaned in toward me, reaching its bony hands out and opening its mouth inside that eyeless, soulless face. It was the vortex that swirled into its mouth, accompanied by the sucking sound, which snapped me out of my fear.

I pointed my wand at the boggart, and with as much strength as I could muster, I shouted, "Riddikulus!" I was pleased to note that I sounded more confident than I felt. My spell hit the boggart/dementor right in its gaping mouth almost causing the thing to choke on it; though, again, that may have been my imagination. The second it swallowed the spell, the dementor sucked in on itself into that swirling vortex it did when it was changing forms before spitting back out into almost the same visage. Only this time, the figure was standing with true bone white hands sticking out of the sleeves of a complete shroud. One hand was wrapped around the handle of a scythe, and its hood was down, revealing a skull grinning its grim smile at me.

I couldn't help my reaction when I saw it. I bent over at the waist and laughed so hard I was almost breathless. After coming face to face with a dementor, this version of death was no longer frightening in any way. I laughed so hard that Newt Scamander couldn't move fast enough. By the time he made it between the dementor and me, it had exploded into a million tiny little pieces.

I collapsed onto the ground, panting from laughing and the fear that I had experienced.

Newt looked at me from above and smirked down at me. "Are you okay, Edward?"

"Yeah, yeah." I sighed. "I think so. It's gone?"

Newt laughed. "That was my only boggart, Edward, and you destroyed it!"

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not." I sat up before standing. I offered my hand for a handshake. "Although, I am sorry it was your only one."

"Eh." He waved it off. "I'll find another inside something, somewhere. I have no doubt. But, Edward, there is something I can do for you, and you me."

Someone must have filled Newt in on my ability because he had his mind locked down tight. I couldn't see what he thought I could help him with. "Oh? What do you need?"

I watched as Newt flicked his wand around, removing the chest, moving the fence around so that it was a smaller room, and he placed a chair in the middle of the room with others around the perimeter.

"I need you to take a seat over there, please." Newt pointed to the chair in the middle.

I frowned at him, trying to read his mind, but shrugged and did as I was asked. We waited in silence for a few moments before my entire family, plus Sirius and Remus, walked into the room and took the other seats. I looked over at Isa to see that she had a worried look upon her face. I went to call her to me, but Newt held up his hand, asking me to please wait before comforting her.

"When I first met you, Edward, there was something heavy sitting on you. I could sense it, but lately, that thing has both diminished and increased in different ways. I did some research but wasn't sure what it was I had sensed until I spoke to Remus." As Newt spoke, he walked around the room he'd created, setting up a table with some instruments, and placed a suitcase—much like the one the boggart turned into every time he'd stepped in front of it—on the floor next to the table. "Don't be upset at our mutual friend, but I had some questions, and he was kind enough to answer them.

"He also filled me in on what had happened over Thanksgiving and Christmas." Newt shook his head in Carlisle's direction, causing him to hold his head up high and mighty; he still didn't believe he'd done anything wrong. "You were very lucky as a child, Edward. If it hadn't been for you becoming a vampire, you very well may have become something much worse. I couldn't imagine how strong an Obscurial, powered via a vampire, would be."

This time Newt turned to face Carlisle head on. "You, sir, did your son a disservice. But on top of that, you still don't believe it. You are still harming your son." With that, Newt turned back to me. "Edward, I need you to close your eyes. Relax and open your mind to me."

"What are you going to do?" Carlisle demanded before I had a chance to ask.

"Saving your son from a lifetime of depressive thoughts, guilt, and anger. Something that you haven't helped at all. Edward, if you please?"

I took one last long look at Isa before sitting back and closing my eyes. I tried to do what Newt had asked of me—relax and open my mind.

"Good, Edward. Just keep relaxing. I'm going to place a bubble around your head, which may cut off some of your senses." I nodded ever so slightly, feeling the bubble descend around my head. "Isabella, I've heard of your shield. If you please, place it around Edward's lower half."

"Yes, sir." I heard Isa whisper; it seemed my hearing was working just fine, but I only now figured out that all the thoughts had been cut off. I felt when Isa's shield wrapped around me because I felt a warmth I only ever associated with her.

"Thank you. Sirius and Remus, if you please, just like we talked about."

I felt their hands descend onto each of my shoulders and grip.

"Usually, I remove one of these after the witch or wizard has passed on, Edward. Unfortunately, I've only ever had one live patient—whom I saved—because they are rather rare. The fact that you survived to seventeen is an impressive thing. You are a lucky man."

I heard Esme stand. "What are you talking about, Mr. Scamander?"

"If you're patient with me a moment longer, I'll show you."

I could feel as Newt walked around me, and I assumed he was waving his wand, but I only wondered about that until I felt something start to climb its way up my throat. That was when I knew the purpose for both Isa's shield and Remus and Sirius's hands on me. It was also when I realized that Isa had placed her shield not only over my lower body but over my hands as well. I tried and struggled to reach up and claw at my throat to try and stop whatever it was that was trying to get out.

It hurt. There wasn't much that could hurt a vampire, but whatever it was that was trying to get out of me felt like it was using razor blades to cut into my esophagus. I couldn't focus on anything going on around me because it was taking all my concentration trying to fight to claw at my throat. I grunted and groaned as I fought both my shackles and the thing inside me. But it was when it reached the back of my throat that it reached the pinnacle of pain, and I couldn't help but let out a roar as I tipped my head back and arched my back. It was during that roar that I felt whatever it was jump right out of my mouth like a cloud or swarm of bugs.

When it was done, I flopped down in my seat, panting with my eyes still closed. Slowly, my senses returned to me. First, my sense of touch. That made me realize I was no longer being held down, by either Sirius and Remus or Isa's shield. Second, my hearing. I could hear gasping cries, quiet sniffles, and someone sobbing tearlessly.

"Edward, are you okay?" I heard from directly in front of me.

With a great amount of effort, I lifted my head and slowly peeled back my eyelids to look at Newt.

"You need some blood. That took a lot out of you …" Before Newt could ask how, I heard Isa call out for Kreacher.

"Yes, Miss Bella?"

"Bring Edward some of the dragon's blood he's got stored, please." I rolled my head in her direction, watching my girl. She was in her element, looking after me. "Bring quite a bit of it. He's going to need all the strength he can get."

"Yes, Miss Bella." Kreacher was only gone for a moment before he was back with several of the large vials of blood I kept in my trunk.

"You're going to have to feed him, Isabella," Newt murmured. "You're the only one he'll allow close with blood in your hands."

I realized Isa was the only one of the girls who wasn't sniffling or crying. She was being strong, and I couldn't help but love her more for it. She grabbed two of the vials Kreacher had brought and walked over to me, climbed in my lap after placing the vials on the table next to us, and then tilted my head back a little.

I smiled a little because she was just that damned beautiful up close.

"Love you too, Teddy." She smiled. "I could see it all over your face. Now"—she reached over to grab a vial—"time for a drink."

Isa held the vial to my mouth and started to pour the blood in a little at a time. By the end of the first vial, I was able to lift my arms to hold onto Isa as she sat on my lap; by the end of the second, I could lift my head and my arm enough to start feeding myself—not that Isa let me—and by the time I finished the third one Kreacher had brought with him, I was almost back to myself. It would take some rest, and food, before I would be back to my normal self.

It was then that I was able to look around at everyone else in the room with me. Jasper was comforting Rose and Alice—who had Hermione in between them—and they were all sniffling, Emmett was holding Esme, who was the one dry sobbing, and Carlisle was slack-jawed, staring at something to my left. Isa had now curled up on my lap, but I could feel her looking at me.

Sirius and Remus, who were still standing behind me, were trying to calm down from the exertion they had used in holding me still. I could hear their heartbeats still thundering, and they were both panting slightly. But it was when I turned toward Newt that something else caught my attention. There in a bubble, hovering above the now opened suitcase, was something black, and smoky, and not quite tangible.

"What is that?" I was gobsmacked. I'd never seen anything like it, not in all the books we'd looked at on creatures the year before.

"That, my friend, is your Obscurial. The thing that started to build after you became a vampire. It was both oppressed and set free because of your vampiric nature." Newt turned to Carlisle, who was still slack-jawed on the chair. "This, Carlisle, is what your negligence and bull-headedness helped to grow inside your son. With your willingness to ignore what was going on with Edward, your ignorance to what he was going through, and your selfishness in keeping Edward ignorant of the wizarding world for so long, you helped to create this dangerous thing."

By the time Newt had finished his explanation, Carlisle's mouth had snapped closed, and he'd shrunk back into his chair, looking for all the world like he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Newt turned around and walked over to the suitcase he had placed on the ground. What happened next completely stunned not only me, but several people in the room. Newt managed to wrangle the bubble holding the Obscurial that had been inside me, pulled it toward him, and then stepped into the suitcase and disappeared!

"What the hell?" I heard murmured from Jasper, which caused Sirius and Remus to snicker.

"Newt Scamander is known as a magizoologist. I'm sure you've read about those?" Sirius asked, making us look at him. Most of us around the room nodded, showing that we knew. "Okay, for those who don't know, a magizoologist is someone who has dedicated themselves to the field of studying magical animals. Newt is known as a great magizoologist, but he's more famous for carrying around a suitcase, and in this suitcase, he keeps a large collection of magical beasts."

The room was silent for a moment, letting us absorb what Sirius was saying. Well, that was until we heard a loud roar coming from the open suitcase. We all startled, spinning to face it, and every single person in that room worried about what might climb out of it. We were all so focused on it that when Newt's head popped out, we jumped a mile in the air.

"Sorry about that," he said as he climbed out and shut the lid. He spun around to face the rest of us and came to a stop. "What? What happened?"

It was Emmett who stepped forward. He was fascinated by not only Newt Scamander but the suitcase full of animals. "What have you got in there?"

"Oh, a little of this, and a little of that." Newt beamed. "Are you interested in magical animals?" Emmett nodded like a bobble-headed doll. "Well, maybe we can get together sometime and I can show you."

"Yes, please!" I couldn't help but chuckle at Emmett. He was so excited; maybe it was something he could do after things settled down. I wasn't the only one. I could feel Isa giggling into my chest.

Newt handed me a book, and when I looked, it was handwritten. "That is everything I know about Obscurials, Edward. Every bit that I found, experienced, or researched is in that book."

"I can't take it; it's yours," I protested, trying to hand it back.

"I'm old, Edward. And I remember everything I've ever written. Take it and learn about what was inside you and what it was doing."

"Um … why do you call that an Obscurial? Isn't it an Obscuros?" It was something I had wondered because Jasper had called it something else during Thanksgiving.

Newt smiled at me. "In essence, it's the same thing. It's just a different name for a different form. When it's inside you, that thing I pulled out?" I nodded to his question. "That is an Obscurial. If it had burst out of you, had you become that as well as yourself, it would be called an Obscuros. But it is essentially the same magical parasite."

It was at that moment several stomachs around the room, not just mine, let out snarls, breaking the seriousness of the moment.

Newt laughed and looked around at all of us. "I've kept you long enough. You three need to have some lunch before you go off to the last of your finals. Oh, Edward, I'll also be there this afternoon. I want to lend my support to you, Hagrid, and Buckbeak."

I stood and shook his hand. "Thank you, Newt, for everything."

"Not a problem. It'll take some time for your body to find a new balance, but when you do, things will be so different. If you have any questions, you can contact me anytime."

I nodded and thanked him again. Isa lifted up on her toes and kissed Newt on the cheek, causing the old man to blush. "Thank you, Mr. Scamander."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now, all of you shoo. Except for you. You sit." Newt pointed at Carlisle—who still hadn't said a word—but waved at the rest of us when we walked out the door.

At the door to the castle, Rose and Alice hugged me tight—their thoughts were relieved I was okay, that that thing was gone from inside me—before they made their way up to Professor Dumbledore's office to go home. Jasper shook my hand while Emmett wrapped me up in one of his signature bear hugs.

"Glad you're okay, bro. That was some scary shit to watch," Emmett murmured when he let go.

I nodded, too choked up to say anything. Everything that had happened was starting to sink in. I couldn't believe I had that thing inside of me.

"Come on, Teddy." Isa grabbed one hand, Hermione the other, and they started towing me into the Great Hall. "Let's get you something to eat. You're going to need your wits about you this afternoon."

"That really was scary to watch," Hermione whispered as we made our way between the tables. "Did you want to see?"

"Uh … no, not right now. Feeling it was bad enough," I replied.

Hermione was interrupted, asking me if I was sure when Harry and Neville caught sight of us. "Where have you three been?" they both bellowed.

I snorted. "Where to begin?"

For the next few minutes, while serving ourselves some lunch, Isa, Hermione, and I filled Harry and Neville in on what had happened after our exam.

"Wow," they both exclaimed before Neville continued. "And you had that in you the whole time?"

"Since I started repressing my magic as a vampire, yes. It hasn't really sunk in all the way yet, so I don't quite know how to feel."

Harry took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "I'll bet. It's a lot to take in as someone who wasn't there, but to have that happen to you, nah, I can't even imagine."

I snorted. "That about covers it."

For the rest of our lunch break, we were silent. Isa had finished before me—because I was starving—and leaned her head against my arm, giving me comfort. I found, though, that the more I ate, the better I felt. In fact, I ate up until the food had disappeared from the Great Hall.

Once it was gone, the six of us, now including Ginny, walked out of the hall together, only to bump into none other than our Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"Neville, my boy, how are you? Oh, and is this Harry Potter? The boy who lived after all?" Fudge shook hands all around, flinching when he shook my hand. "Who else do we have here?"

I smirked when Neville took the lead. He'd grown so much in the time we'd known him.

"You're right, Minister, this is Harry Potter. We also have Hermione Cullen, Edward Masen, Isabella Swan, and Ginny Weasley. What are you doing here?"

He waved his hand around like whatever he was here for was of no consequence. "Oh, just some hearing or something; doesn't matter. I was just happy to bump into you today."

"Just s-some hearing?" Isa sputtered before I could stop her. "Just some hearing! Like it doesn't even matter that you're deciding on the death of an animal? Like his life doesn't mean anything?"

I grabbed Isa's hand, hoping it would calm her down. What I didn't expect was Hermione piping up next.

"Does it matter that the life of _Buckbeak_ means something to other people? Or to the person who is fighting so hard for it, to any of you?" Hermione looked at the other people standing with Fudge. "Let me guess. This is the guy from the Disposal of Magical Creatures department, and he's already made up his mind, no matter what anybody has to say today." She had pointed at an older, portly gentleman, who was surprised by their vehemence against what they were doing here today.

Isa then pointed at another _man_ dressed in all black. "And he's here as a 'just in case.' Just in case you should decide to execute Buckbeak, or have you already decided? Oh, that's right, if you hadn't already decided, he wouldn't be here. He'd be awaiting an owl to come and do the dirty, disgusting deed that you don't want get your hands dirty for."

The man who was with them was tall but lanky, with long black hair and a moustache. But the worst part was the massive axe he held in his hands. Well, that was the worst part until I read his mind. It seemed that in a _former_ life this man, McNair, was a _death eater._ I snorted internally at that. One never stopped being a death eater from what I could tell, and they were fooling themselves by thinking he had changed.

"Well, I never!" Fudge said indignant. "How dare you?"

"How dare we?" Hermione and Isa said together before Isa continued. "How dare you! Did you even listen to all the evidence before deciding that Buckbeak was guilty? Or did you decide that the word of a rich, self-important _death eater_ was more important than the truth?"

I watched in silence as both men, who were here to carry out the sentence they had agreed upon before coming here, sputtered and floundered under the force of the questions being thrown at them. Both girls had a future in interrogations as far as I was concerned.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Isa said angrily. "Money doesn't make a person, especially one who has _always_ been rumored to be on Voldemort's side. And the fact you'd take that without even considering other options makes you just as _despicable_ as him. Especially if he threatened all of you. I would think you'd want to fight back against the evils of the world. But I guess you're not as strong as I thought you were." Isa snorted out loud before shaking her head. "Excuse me, _gentlemen_ , but I have an exam to get to."

With that, Isa stormed off down the corridor without as much as a goodbye to any of us. But she did leave me with a parting thought of, _Kick their ass, Edward. I'll be there to collect Buckbeak before the end of the trial._

"Good luck, Edward," Harry said to me. "I think you're going to need it."

"What do you mean?" Fudge thundered. "And I'll be talking to Professor Dumbledore about those two."

This time, I smirked at Fudge, attracting his attention. "What? Can't others have an opinion on relevant events, Minister? Do you want a unified community who are a bunch of yes men, agreeing with your every whim? Isa and Hermione feel strongly about what has happened to Buckbeak, and I can't say I blame them. But the reason Harry was wishing me good luck is because I have been asked to defend Buckbeak at this upcoming hearing." I leaned in close, making Fudge and the representative from the disposal department take a step back at the look on my face. "And just so you know, in the muggle world, I hold a law degree, so I will be much more competitive, and argumentative, and better prepared than Hagrid ever was. Good day, gentlemen; see you in a bit."

I walked off, leaving the two of them dumbfounded and McNair concerned. Because if we knew that Malfoy was a death eater, what else did we know? Without a word, Hermione, Neville, Harry, and Ginny followed me as well. When we made it outside the entrance doors, we stopped.

"Harry and I have got to get to divination. Are you sure you can handle this, Edward?" Neville asked.

"I'll be fine. I've got my extra senses that will help," I said tapping my temple.

"And he won't be alone," Hermione muttered. "I wasn't going to go, even though I don't have a final, but I think I'll come along anyway. I can be your co-counsel."

I smirked at her. "Happy to have you aboard. What about you, Ginny?"

"I've got a final with Isa in Muggle Studies, so I better go catch up with her. Good luck, you two." Ginny waved as she ran off in the direction of Esme's classroom. She wouldn't catch up with Isa because she was already there, crying in Esme's arms. She knew we would be saving Buckbeak regardless, but that didn't mean it couldn't upset her.

"You've got this, Edward. Doesn't matter what happens. We'd better get going as well." Harry and Neville both nodded before making their way back inside the castle.

"I think we've just made this fight harder for you than necessary, Edward, and for that, I'm sorry." Hermione looked up at me.

I pulled her arm through mine and started walking in the direction of Hagrid's hut. "Well, it wouldn't be any fun if they gave in too easily. And if they want a fight, they can have one."

I smirked. I was looking forward to this, now, more than ever.

~*~UHS~*~

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 **I cannot wait to see what you have to say to this one. So much has happened...**

 **See you in a fortnight.**


	16. Chapter Fifteen - Confrontations

**Welcome readers! We're down to the wire, this is the second to last chapter of Under Her Spell - Book Three. I can't believe there's only one more chapter to go. Wow sad. Anyway, I hope you all had a good fortnight. I'm all moved, even if my new house is still full of boxes, they are slowly disappearing. YAY!**

 **My thanks go out to Pienuniek and Sally, they are the best, and I'd be totally lost without them. Have a good summer guys, I have book four to finish, lol!**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling, no copyright infringement is intended.**

 **See me at the bottom...**

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 **Chapter Fifteen – Confrontations**

"I've been meaning to give this to you today," Hermione said as she pulled a book from her bag. "I had been hoping to do it after Defense but … Well, we all know what happened there. It's not much, but I hoped it would help you."

I took the book from her and looked down at it to see it was on the way court was held in the wizarding world. It was a short book that covered things from basic court cases, like what we were doing, to the Wizengamot.

"Thank you, Hermione. If you could just guide us to around the other side of Hagrid's hut, I'll read over this real quick."

Hermione smiled and pulled tighter on my arm. "Got it."

We were quiet while I read the book she had given me, and she guided me excellently, almost as if she had done it with a blind person before. "Done this before, have you?"

"There was a girl, the only friend I ever had in a muggle school, and she was blind. I was assigned to her the first day she arrived. For a few weeks, we walked around the school like this until she learned her way. After that, we were the best of friends."

"Were?"

"She moved away a year and a half before I got my Hogwarts' letter. We kept in contact for a while, but eventually, I stopped receiving her letters. I kept sending mine for a while but never got any in return." I heard Hermione sniffle. "I always wondered if my parents kept them from me because I never made any other friends."

I pulled her to a stop before we reached Hagrid's hut. "When Emmett and Rose get their house up and running, give them her name, and her parents' names, and they'll try to find her for you. Just because you're a part of this community doesn't mean you can't have friends outside it."

"Thank you, Edward. I'll do that. Now finish reading." Hermione pulled on my arm again as I went back to the book with a chuckle.

By the time we'd walked around the side of Hagrid's hut, I'd placed the book in my bag and was guiding Hermione with a hand on her back.

 _This doesn't look like any court I've ever seen._ Hermione's thoughts made me laugh.

"Didn't you read the book you got me?"

"Um … no. It was a last minute thought, and with all of our finals going on, I didn't take the time to read it."

I chuckled a little again. "In a wizarding courtroom, the accused sits in the center while the jury are around the outside, although, usually in front of the accused. Being that the accused is Buckbeak, I'll be in the center. They didn't say anything about lawyers, but it's not like Buckbeak can speak for himself, hence me doing it for him. The rest of the people can sit in the seats around the back of the accused."

"What about the accuser?"

"He doesn't need to be at these proceedings. He made his case when he presented _his_ evidence of the crime. But this is Lucius, so we'll see if he shows." I pointed Newt Scamander out to Hermione. "Go sit up there; you'll have a good view."

"Good luck," she whispered, then kissed my cheek before she left me in the middle of the makeshift room Hagrid had made.

I tuned into the thoughts around the area to find that both Fudge and the representative were shocked I'd turned up and that I'd taken position for the defense of a creature. I also found out that we were waiting for both Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid to join the proceedings before we could start.

Buckbeak nudged my hand as I took my place next to him in the center. As I listened to the thoughts floating around, I hadn't realized that I had frozen like a statue until the gentleman now known as Oblansk Flint's—I idly wondered if he was related to Marcus Flint from Slytherin—thoughts caught my attention.

 _How is it possible that we have a creature not only at Hogwarts but defending another creature? Look at him standing stiller than a damn statue._

I frowned ever so slightly. How was it they thought of vampires as creatures? We were humans; we had just been enhanced. That didn't mean we were creatures. I'm sure they thought of it as a derogatory term. I snorted; they had no idea. I'd heard way more derogatory remarks in the muggle world than I had heard since becoming a wizard.

It wasn't long before Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore joined us. I noted the surprise coming from Dumbledore; it seemed he hadn't expected anyone other than Hagrid to run the appeal. I don't know why he hadn't done it or added his two cents in. Sometimes, he frustrated me.

Once everyone was seated, Minister Fudge started the proceedings. "Welcome to everyone joining us today. We are here to discuss the matter of a hippogriff who attacked a student, and according to our complainant, one Lucius Malfoy, it was unprovoked."

I snorted out loud, causing the Minister to pause.

"At a previous hearing, it was decided that the hippogriff in question was to be executed. This hearing is an appeal to the execution mandate. Mr. Masen, you now have the floor."

"Thank you, Minister. First of all, I'd like to introduce you to the hippogriff in question." I placed my hand on his head as I faced the two in charge. "This is Buckbeak. Beloved friend of our Care of Magical Creatures professor, Rubeus Hagrid. When referring to the _hippogriff_ in question, you might want to call him by his name instead of the type of _creature_ he is." I looked directly at Oblansk Flint when I said my words, which caused him to blanch and wonder if he'd said his thoughts out loud.

"For many, many years, Hogwarts has had a herd of hippogriffs on its grounds, and from the research I've done, not once has there been an incident with these magnificent animals. Not once has there been a hearing to discuss the destruction of such a beautiful mammal. Now, I want you to think about why that is."

I watched their faces as their minds went blank due to my question.

"The reason for that is because there are rules for interacting with hippogriffs. Do you know what they are, Minister? Mr. Flint?" Again, their minds were blank. I walked around Buckbeak, keeping their attention on me. I wish I'd asked Alice to send me one of my Italian suits. "There is a certain etiquette to working with hippogriffs. The first rule is to pay respect and let them come to you. When you approach a hippogriff, you bow and wait. If the hippogriff accepts you, he'll bow and allow you to come to him; if not, then you should back away.

"There is only one way to get a hippogriff to attack. Can you hazard a guess as to how?" I stood in front of Buckbeak, facing the two men who had his life in their hands. When they didn't answer, I continued. "The only reason a hippogriff will attack is if they are not shown the proper respect. Does that support the theory given by the complainant that the attack was unprovoked?"

I spun around to take another walk around poor Buckbeak, commanding their attention, to find that we had been joined by a few more people—Fred and George Weasley, plus Ginny and Isa. They must have finished their finals early. I hoped they hadn't rushed through them.

"This is all well and good, Mr. Masen, but the complainant says the attack was unprovoked. We don't know that hippogriffs don't attack unprovoked." Mr. Flint sighed, like this whole thing was beneath him.

"Far be it from me to dispute the evidence you've had in your wizarding history for years and years," I stated sarcastically. "How about the fact that I can guarantee it wasn't unprovoked?"

Minister Fudge grunted before he asked, "And how can you prove that?"

"Simple." I clasped my hands together and faced them. "I was there that day, as was my mate, Isabella Swan. The famed Charlie Swan's daughter."

There were gasps from both the Minister and Mr. Flint as I held one hand out to my side. Isa, knowing I had summoned her, came down and linked her fingers with mine.

"We can show you our memories of that day. There is also the fact that the person who was 'attacked' didn't want to report it, but was forced to by his father. Again, one Lucius Malfoy. There seems to be a pattern here."

"And how do you know all about Lucius Malfoy?" Fudge demanded.

I snorted. "Who doesn't know about _Malfoy_? I mean, anyone who can do research can find information about what side of the first wizarding war he was on. Just because he was one of the Pure 27 doesn't give him the right to bully the rest of the wizarding world. Besides, you never know what you'll hear when you're a vampire because vampires have excellent hearing. I hear many interesting conversations. And not just at Hogwarts."

Both Fudge and Flint were gobsmacked because what they knew about vampires could fit in a thimble. They were still operating on the facts they had been taught, not what I represented.

It was Isa who spoke up next. "Before you say anything you might regret, I think you should listen to what I have to say. I imagine what you know about vampires doesn't mesh with the wonderful man standing beside me. What I can tell you is that I have rewritten everything about vampires, and Professor Dumbledore will be having it published in time for the next school year. Maybe you should read it as well?"

"That is enough!" Minister Fudge thundered. "Have you finished presenting your case?"

"Are you going to interview any of our classmates who were there on the day of the incident? Or view any of the memories we have for that day?" I asked politely.

"No!"

"Then we rest our case, with prejudice. Just in case you change your mind and decide not to execute Buckbeak, our family would be happy to have him at Swan Manor, if you think it is best he leave Hogwarts."

"We will give our verdict later this afternoon." With that, Minister Fudge and Mr. Flint stood and left their seats, leaving us behind them.

Every person in the makeshift courtroom was silent as Minister Fudge, Oblansk Flint, and McNair made their way back to the castle. Professor Dumbledore had provided them with a comfortable classroom to deliberate in after the hearing. Once they were away from us, Hagrid stood and moved Buckbeak back to the pumpkin patch on the other side of his hut while Dumbledore and the others made their way to where Isa and I were standing.

"I'm not entirely sure that went the way you wanted it to go," Professor Dumbledore said when he stood in front of us.

"They weren't going to change their minds." I shook my head. "It didn't matter what we had to say today. Cornelius Fudge is too afraid of Malfoy to go against him, and Oblansk Flint won't go against the Minister. It was all a big charade. They'll come down here later and announce that it's the best thing, and Buckbeak will be executed."

Isa stormed off. She was furious with what had happened. She couldn't believe that, no matter what we had said today, nothing was going to change their minds.

"I presume you have a plan?" Dumbledore asked as he watched Isa.

"We do."

"Good. Carry it out after I take them inside Hagrid's hut this afternoon."

I nodded. "Show that Buckbeak is there before anything happens."

"Exactly. Don't tell me the rest; I don't need to know."

"Got it." I spun around to see everyone else. "Let's go Gryffindors. I want to relax in the Common Room until dinner."

The three Weasleys gave a wave and started to make their way back to the castle as well as Professor Dumbledore and Newt Scamander—who were talking about the way I had held myself this afternoon, considering everything—while Hermione and I waited for Isa to stop her angry pacing at the edge of the forest.

"Think she'll be okay?" Hermione asked.

I huffed. "Yeah. It's just hard for her to accept that no matter what we had to say, and what proof we had today, nothing was going to change. She's wondering if we can even have faith in our whole governmental system if they can do this to an innocent animal."

"She thinks that if they can do this to an animal, it's not much of a stretch that they could do it to an actual person?"

"That's exactly what Isa thinks. And I can't say I blame her. There's going to be a lot more that will test our faith in the people who govern us over the coming years." I sighed.

"What's that muggle saying? 'It'll get worse before it gets better'?"

I pulled Isa into my arms when she walked over to us and hugged her tight. "Yeah." I sighed. "That's exactly what's going to happen."

~*~UHS~*~

"So it didn't matter what he said?" Neville was shocked at the thought.

"No," Isa growled. "It wouldn't have mattered if we'd had all the evidence there and shown it to them. They had already made up their minds, and they'll attempt to do it later today."

We were back in the Common Room after that disastrous display of a hearing. Isa had taken it upon herself to explain to Neville and Harry what had happened when they asked. She was still mad but had calmed down since we'd made our way back to the castle. Isa had a plan, and I knew we would stick to it.

But it wasn't the story that had garnered my attention. Once Isa began to tell the story, Harry had almost zoned out, and it was his fractured thoughts that had called to me. While I could catch bits and pieces, I couldn't make sense of what they meant. I knew something had happened, but I was waiting until he was ready to share. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to wait long.

It didn't take Harry long. I'd gotten up to grab something from my desk when he wandered over to the edge of my area.

"What's up, Harry?"

"Can I show you something?" he asked, tapping his temple when I looked over to him.

"Sure. Come on in and have a seat." I sat down in my recliner while he took the seat from my desk. "What happened?"

"We were in our Divination final this afternoon." I nodded when he paused and looked at me. "Well, the teacher—Professor Trelawney—she's a little bit strange. Today, she took a step out of weird to the completely insane. But she also reminded me a little of Alice."

I frowned, not really following. "Again, Harry, what happened?"

I watched through Harry as Professor Trelawney asked him questions pertaining to ways of telling the future. All of them, Harry answered with confidence. It was toward the end that the professor seemed to zone out, ending up in her own little world.

" _Professor Trelawney?" Harry asked, trying to get her attention. He was just about to get up and make his way out of the room, thinking she had fallen asleep when, quick as lightning, her arm shot out and grabbed his with surprising strength._

"It will happen tonight _…" she rasped. Her voice, to me, sounded like a pack-a-day smoker. It was harsh to my ears. I couldn't imagine how scary that would have been for Harry._ "It will happen tonight … the Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these last twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to re-join his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than before. Tonight … before midnight … the servant … will set out … to rejoin … his master …"*

 _Harry stared open-mouthed as Professor Trelawney flopped back into her chair with eyes and mouth wide open, drool dripping from the corner. He couldn't process what she had said. With that thought, Harry was up and running for the door._

"What do you think?"

"I think … we had better be on the lookout for both Lestrange and Pettigrew tonight. Either one of them could be the one she was talking about." I looked Harry straight in the eyes. "I think we're going to be in for a sleepless night. Let's go warn everyone."

Harry nodded as he stood. His eyes were narrowed. "Let's go to our room."

It was my turn to nod. Harry was ready to face this part of his past, and I couldn't be more proud of him.

Or so I thought.

~*~UHS~*~

We didn't hear anything about the resolution to the appeal until we were finished eating our dinner. Isa and I had followed the others outside to enjoy the sunset when Lily—Hagrid's Owl—landed next to us on the grass. She looked me in the eye, because she was just that big, before she held her leg out to Harry. He promptly pulled the note from the holder so Lily could take flight as soon as he was done.

"What is it?" Isa blurted before he'd even unfolded the note. "What does it say?"

Isa's hurry made all of us laugh when we needed it. But Harry laughed out loud as he opened it. "Well, if you let me read it, I could tell you!"

I was well aware of what that letter would contain, as was Isa, but it was nice just to pretend for a little while longer. Harry quietly read the letter then looked up at us with tears in his eyes.

"The Minister, Mr. Flint, and McNair—the executioner—will be at Hagrid's hut in about half an hour. It seems it's time to put our plan into action," Harry said quietly.

With those words, we all stood and started picking up our things. Fred, George, and Ginny were going to take all of our bags back to the Gryffindor Common Room. They were also our backup in case things went awry. The three of them had been invited into my space earlier, which meant they would have the perfect vantage point for watching Hagrid's hut. If they didn't see us pull Buckbeak away and have Kreacher take him then they would get word to Remus to come and do it for us.

While the Weasleys were on their way back to the Common Room Neville, Harry, and Hermione were going to go and meet with Hagrid, to make sure he was going to be okay and didn't blow our plan. Isa and I, well, we were going to hide until Fudge and the others had made their way past Buckbeak before stealing him away. Sure, the Ministry could come looking for him at Swan Manor, but the likelihood of them accusing a manor full of vampires was slim to none.

"Ready?" Neville asked.

"Ready," we all replied before going our own separate ways.

 _You really think this will work?_ Isa asked as we crept our way into the Forbidden Forest surrounding Hagrid's hut. We could see his pumpkin patch and Buckbeak from where we were going to be hiding.

"You doubting my brilliance now?" I feigned shock, which caused Isa to giggle.

"No." She giggled again. _But, do you think we can get the timing right?_

I stood upright behind the tree I was going to hide behind and looked over to where Isa was hiding. "I think Buckbeak will follow wherever you want him to go, and that will make moving him back here much easier. And once we have him here …"

 _Kreacher will be able to spirit him away._

"Exactly."

Isa and I were quiet, watching as Hermione, Neville, and Harry made their way past Buckbeak and knocked on Hagrid's front door. We listened in on their conversation, only to growl in unison when Hagrid produced a cage from underneath his table.

"I know that yeh aren't friendly with Ron, but could yeh please pass his rat back to 'im?"

Harry had frozen in his complete anger at the creature—who was visibly shuddering in fear—inside the cage. He couldn't make himself reach out and take hold of the cage, even when Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder and urged him to. So Neville, being much more observant than he used to be, reached out to grab a hold of the cage. A cage that was only just bigger than the rat itself.

"We can do that, Hagrid. It's not like it's out of our way to take him back to our tower."

"Thank yeh, Neville." Hagrid turned slowly, his larger size making quick movements harder, and spied the contingent coming down the hill from the castle. "It's time for yeh to leave. Yeh can't be out after dark, especially yeh two, Neville and Harry. Quick, out the back door."

Hermione, Neville, and Harry scrambled to the back door before the three of them turned around to face Hagrid again, but it was Harry who spoke. "Don't worry, Hagrid, it'll be okay."

"I know," he murmured. "Just gotta play my part, right?"

"Right." Hermione agreed. "We'll go, but we won't be far."

With that, the three of them opened the back door and peered around it to see where Dumbledore and his contingent from the Ministry were before they snuck into the vegetable patch and hid behind some of the massive pumpkins Hagrid had managed to grow at this time of year.

"This is going to be close," Harry murmured to Isa and me without turning around. "Hope you guys are ready."

We couldn't answer him loud enough without drawing attention, but even so, Isa answered in her thoughts. _We're ready. Buckbeak won't be murdered tonight._

I nodded in agreement. The wait while watching the "adults" walk toward Hagrid's door was excruciating. I had to snort in amusement because Professor Dumbledore was talking about anything and everything, trying to distract them from what was about to happen, and I wasn't talking about the execution. Professor Dumbledore knew we were going to do something, but he wasn't sure what.

After Professor Dumbledore knocked on Hagrid's door, he spun to look up at the mountains surrounding the castle, calling for the attention of Flint, Fudge, and McNair to appreciate the beauty of them as he did. It was during this lapse Harry, Hermione, and Neville ran off with Scabbers to the top of the hill leading to the castle where they were going to meet us afterward. It was almost perfect timing on Hagrid's part because, the minute they were out of sight, he swung his door open. But it was Fang who drew everyone's attention, giving Isa and me time to sneak out behind the pumpkins because he started barking rather menacingly.

"Down, Fang; they're not worth it. But I suppose if they're gonna murder Buckbeak, we'd better let them in, and they better do as Dumbledore says."

"Now, now, Hagrid, it doesn't have to be like this."

Minister Fudge tried to talk, but Hagrid just turned to our headmaster and spoke over the top. "Come in, Professor Dumbledore. Would you like a tea?"

Their conversation continued while Dumbledore, Fudge, Flint, and McNair entered into Hagrid's small hut. Hagrid being mostly passive aggressive and talking around the infiltrators—his word, not mine—while still trying to be the nice person we knew him to be.

Once they were all crowded inside Hagrid's hut, Isa and I snuck out from behind the pumpkins and made our way toward Buckbeak. The once-beautiful animal was curled up as small as he could get, his feathers were dull, certainly not the beautiful glowing they had been when we first met him, and his head was bowed; he looked so downtrodden. It seemed that he knew what was going to be happening.

No, we were going to make sure it wasn't going to happen.

I kept an eye on what was happening inside the hut while Isa approached Buckbeak, who had looked up at her approach, and bowed to him, showing him the respect he deserved. It took a few seconds, but eventually, Buckbeak bowed his head back to her, allowing Isa to continue making her way to him. She gently ran her hand over his head, relaxing him, before reaching over to the post he had been chained to.

 _A creature such as this should never, ever be chained up. Never. He understands; all you have to do is explain it to him,_ Isa growled in her thoughts while carefully undoing the chain before she spun back to Buckbeak, who had slowly gotten to his feet. "Come on, Buckbeak. We're going to get you out of here. Nothing is happening to you today."

I could see the indecision on his face. He wanted to be free of what was happening, but he didn't want to leave Hagrid.

"I promise, Buckbeak, that as soon as Hagrid can, he'll come and visit you. We're going to have you taken to Swan Manor where you'll be able to be free, like here at Hogwarts," I said to Buckbeak after taking a couple of steps forward so that he could hear me, but not feel threatened.

With one last look back at Hagrid's hut, Buckbeak took a hesitant step forward, then another, until finally, he was moving with enough speed that we were soon in the forest. It was a good thing too because, the minute we crossed over the forest line, the door to Hagrid's hut opened, and the contingent from the Ministry stepped out. We heard a "What? Where did he go?" from the Minister himself as we stepped farther into the forest and away from them.

We stopped once we'd gone far enough and called for Kreacher, who popped in before we'd almost finished saying his name.

"Kreacher, thank you for coming so quickly." Isa sighed. "We wouldn't be able to do this without you. This is Buckbeak, and we need you to take him home to the manor; they were going to kill him!"

I rubbed Isa's shoulders to help her calm down so she wouldn't scare Kreacher or Buckbeak.

"Miss Bella, I will have Buckbeak settled by the time Master Emmett returns from school. I promise nothing will happen to him." Kreacher turned and bowed to Buckbeak, who immediately bowed in return; it seemed there was more respect in the world of creatures than there was with the wizarding one. "Buckbeak will be safe." With that, Kreacher laid a hand on Buckbeak's back, and they were gone.

I pulled Isa's hand up to place a featherlight kiss on it as I looked down at her. "Think we should go before Harry manages to kill Pettigrew before we manage to interrogate him?"

Isa broke out into a beautiful giggle. The stress of the afternoon melting away. "Yeah, I guess we better."

Instead of walking, I swung Isa onto my back and took off at top speed. I could hear Harry getting more and more aggravated the longer he had to wait for us to get there. In fact, he was just opening the cage as I crested the top of the hill leading to the castle.

"Harry, what are you doing?" I asked when I skidded to a stop.

"I want to talk to this little weasel. He did it, and I want to know why!"

I looked around at Neville, Hermione, and Isa, but it was Hermione who made the observation. "Maybe this isn't the best place for that, Harry."

"I agree." I leaned down to look at Scabbers in Harry's hands. "I think we should take Mister Pettigrew somewhere …"

"Ouch! He bit me!" With Harry's words, he dropped Scabbers like a hot potato.

The second Scabbers was on the ground, he took off running, but he wasn't the only one. A large black dog came barreling out of the forest and took off after the rat, with the rest of us following. We were trying to be discreet, but when I realized what direction we were heading, I shouted out to Sirius louder, trying to grab his attention.

 _It's okay, Edward. I know where he's going! Crookshanks knows, and he's going to be here to help any second. Transform and follow!_

I leapt into the air, without a thought, and transformed into my snow leopard form. Four thumps accompanied my landing on the ground, but what surprised me was the four more that followed. I turned my head to look back only to find Isa's slinky cat body racing along behind me.

She smiled, a truly scary cat smile, just before I turned forward. It was her thoughts, though, that were stunningly evil with undertones of what Pettigrew was going to endure in our pursuit of truth. _Let's catch ourselves a rat!_

All of that came to a halt, however, when Scabbers and Sirius ran directly, without pause, at the Whomping Willow and into the tunnel beneath it. We would have followed had the tree not decided to thump one of her mighty branches right down in front of me, making me come to a complete stop.

I growled. Sirius was heading to the Shrieking Shack after Scabbers, by himself! _Now what do we do!_

Hermione, Harry, and Neville came to a stop right next to us and looked over the willow. It was at that point I could hear Hermione muttering something: "Come on, come on, where is it? Where is that knot? Wait … Crookshanks, what are you doing?"

Crookshanks had bolted out from behind some other trees, directly into the path of the Whomping Willow! He was small enough that he was able to avoid being hit directly by the branches as they came down, swinging and thumping in all directions.

 _Get ready, Isa. The minute Crookshanks hits that knot, we're going in!_

 _Got it, Teddy!_

"Crookshanks, NOOOO!" Hermione cried out as one of the branches came down so, so close to her cat. Luck would have it that it missed, and by the time Hermione had realized it, Crookshanks had pushed the knot at the base of the willow.

 _Go, Isa!_ Isa and I shot off the mark, claws digging into the ground to get a grip, and powered our way toward the willow. I could see I was going to be too large to get into the hole the way I was standing, so when I was close enough, I slid forward on my belly and into the opening of the tunnel.

The opening slid down before giving way to the actual tunnel underneath it where I was able to land on my feet. I propelled myself forward, taking off at full speed. I could hear Isa a little ways behind me. I was glad she was almost as fast as me in her leopard form; it certainly made things easier. Isa and I were almost at the Shrieking Shack when we heard two thumps land inside the tunnel from the willow end.

 _That's at least two of our friends. I wonder who stayed behind,_ Isa thought.

 _Maybe they didn't stay behind. Maybe, whoever it was went to get help in the form or Remus._

 _Oh! That would be a good idea. A surprise cavalry._

 _Exactly, Isa._ I slowed as I came to the opening into the shack and used my hearing to figure out what was going on. It seemed we'd caught up to Sirius and Pettigrew, and they were only in the next room.

 _I hear your footfalls, Edward. Peter is heading for the stairs; follow us up,_ Sirius called out as he hit the bottom of the staircase above us.

 _We're going up, Isa. Follow me!_ Sirius didn't say anything to my thoughts to Isa, which all but confirmed my earlier thoughts about not being able to hear others in our animagus forms. It seemed that talent was only reserved for Isa and me.

 _I heard, Edward! I heard Sirius. Why do you think that is?_

 _I don't know. It's something we're going to have to work out later._

 _Got it. Later._

Isa and I bolted out from the underground tunnel, sprinted across a completely destroyed room, and up the stairs. It was as we were running up the stairs that I used my mind reading to see what was going on in this shack, and what I found was disturbing. So much so that I once again changed forms and became myself again.

"Sirius!" I called out as loud as I dared while running up the stairs. "Sirius!" I reached the landing just as he transformed from his animagus form. "Sirius!" But I was too late; he didn't hear me.

Sirius stepped through the door into another completely destroyed and decayed room, wand out, only to have it forced out of his hand by a well-placed "Expelliarmus" by none other than Rabastan Lestrange. I froze, calculating what I could do, when Isa slinked by with her belly low to the ground and a very low, almost inaudible growl rolling through her body.

 _I got this._ I watched in unrestrained awe as her lithe little body, slunk low to the ground, curled its way around the bannister on the landing and up the last of the stairs toward the door that Sirius went through a second before. She paused ever so slightly, her ears and tail twitching, as she listened to hear where everyone was standing. _Hmm, Sirius is laying on the floor; the rat is over in the corner trying to be as small as possible …_

Harry and Hermione finally caught up to where I was standing and would have run right past had I not held my hand in front of them to stop them from continuing.

"Edward, what are y …" Harry started to ask.

"Shh!" I interrupted. "We've got a situation," I whispered. "Isa's about to take care of it for us."

Both of their mouths dropped open when they saw the pouncing stance Isa had taken, only to try to stifle their giggles when she added in the butt wiggle cats were famous for, before launching herself through the door. The three of us listened intently to the sounds made when Isa left our sight. There was an "oomph," a thump, which vibrated the very floor we were standing on—making me wonder if the old shack would hold up to Isa's attack—and a menacing growl that told the other person they had to stay there or something awful was going to happen to them.

 _It's okay to come in, Teddy. I have everything under control._

I indicated for Hermione and Harry to follow me into the room but to do so quietly. Just because Isa had it under control, didn't mean there wasn't any more danger lurking. Well, that was until I stepped into the room and found Isa standing with her front paws on the back of one very dirty, disheveled Lestrange and her jaws around the back of his neck. Her long front canines were pressing ever so gently into the side of his neck, and every time he flinched or moved, she would let out a small growl.

"A little hungry, my girl?" I snickered, leaning down to pick up not only Sirius's wand, but Lestrange's too. Who knew, it might come in handy later on down the road.

 _Ha, ha. You're so funny, Edward._ _That's not to say I wouldn't take a bite out of him if it became necessary._

I ran my hand down her back, smoothing out her hackles. "I know you would, and I'm sure Sirius is really grateful for your timely appearance."

"Oh, you have no idea." The man in question groaned as Harry and Hermione pulled Sirius to his feet. "Why didn't you warn me he was there?"

"I tried," I scoffed. "But if I'd called you any louder, he would have known you had backup and would have slithered away into the dark like a weasel, or should I say Hyena, seeing as that's how he escaped from Azkaban."

"What do you mean?" Hermione blurted out. "How did he escape?"

"Doesn't matter right now!" I growled. Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen Pettigrew scurry into a hole in the wall. Everyone was stunned when I fired a spell at what they thought was a random spot on the wall. My spell dragged out a very bedraggled rat, screeching and fighting for all he was worth to get away. "We have some business to attend to."

With my words, I'd lost concentration on my spell releasing Peter from it. He scampered off only to have Sirius fire a spell that was aimed at him, but missed, causing him to change directions. I joined Sirius in trying to hit Scabbers with the Homorphus Charm as he ran, trying to dodge it. Because the damn rat had known me for as long as Ron had, he knew I could read his mind, and when I'd appeared before him outside, he'd promptly shut his mind again, making it hard for me to predict which way he was going to run when the spell missed him.

The spell we were using was something I had come across when I'd figured out that Scabbers was indeed Pettigrew. I knew that once we caught him, we would have to force him to change back into his human form, and this was the best way to do that.

Pettigrew managed to dodge the charm every time until Remus ran through the door, blocking the exit Scabbers was heading to next, and firing the spell with us. All three charms hit at the same time because Pettigrew had frozen in his tracks when Remus had appeared.

Every single one of us in that room was quiet for the few seconds it took Pettigrew to return to his former self. It was quite fascinating to watch actually. It was like watching one of those time-lapse photography films. First, his head sprouted and grew, then his limbs shot out in every direction until a fat, balding, rat-faced man, with buckteeth, sat in a sad-looking lump on the floor. He was wringing his hands, not looking at anyone, almost like he was ashamed of what he had done.

Although I knew differently, I wanted to see what he would say to his once-upon-a-time friends.

"I think we've got it, Edward," Remus murmured, holding his wand on Pettigrew. "Why don't you give Bella a hand so she can stop dropping saliva all over the floor? These boards are rotten enough without adding moisture to the mix."

I chuckled, giving him a nod before turning back to Lestrange and my stunning girl. "All right, Isa, let him up. I've got him covered." She growled at my words, causing me to chuckle. "I promise, if he runs, or tries to run, or even says something you don't like, I'll let you tackle him again. I'll even let you take a bite out of him."

 _Good. I don't want this … monster … to escape again. You need to explain to the others how he managed to escape all this time. I can smell it on him now, and those odd trails in the forest make so much more sense._

"I know. I'll explain. I promise."

Isa slowly climbed off Lestrange but sat right next to him as he slowly sat up, keeping a wary eye on not only me and my wand, but Isa and her very sharp teeth. Even through his thoughts, I couldn't figure out what he was more afraid of.

"Will you tell us now how he escaped?" Hermione asked, waving in the direction of Lestrange.

I snorted. "It seems our friend here is an unregistered animagus. He escaped from Azkaban by testing his hyena form on the dementors. When they didn't pick up on his change, he simply walked out the doors that were left open."

"Oh." Hermione frowned. "They can't tell the difference between a human and their animagus forms?"

"It seems not."

"Enough for now," Sirius growled. "What I want to know is why this little weasel did what he did!"

Remus stepped forward, pointing his wand right into Pettigrew's face. "You turned them over to Voldemort, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean to!" The pathetic lump on the floor whined. He'd closed his mind again, so I was unsure if he was telling the truth or not. "You don't know what he can do, how powerful he is!"

"But they were our friends! They thought you were their friend. How could you turn your back on them?" Sirius shouted with his arms flailing in the air.

It was then that Pettigrew's mind opened up and thoughts just flew out, causing me to flinch. I closed my eyes, trying to sort through the onslaught of thoughts. Lestrange noticed my distraction and tried to take advantage. What he'd forgotten was Isa. When he moved to try to escape, Isa pounced on him once again. Only this time, she landed on his front. Lestrange landed flat on his back with Isa planted on his chest. She was looking down at him, growling, and dripping saliva right into his face.

I bobbed down next to Lestrange and looked him in the eye. "I told you if you flinched my girl here would take care of you. You're lucky she didn't take that bite she was promising earlier. So, for now, I think I'll let her stay right where she is." I stood, turning back to Pettigrew, as Isa growled long and low in Lestrange's face. I looked to Sirius and Remus, who had remained quiet. "The reason he gave them up isn't because Voldemort forced him to—unless you count fear—but because he promised him something that he'd never had before. Power."

"Y-y-you turned in the location of my parents and me for p-p-power?" Harry stuttered, standing from the chair he had been sitting on. "What did you think that would get you? Do you really think Voldemort"—here Pettigrew flinched at the name, something I had noticed every time it was said; he was certainly afraid of him—"would give you what he promised? He would have given you nothing, and you would have betrayed the people who thought of you as a friend. For nothing!"

Peter started shuffling toward Harry on his knees, begging. "No, no! That's not how it was. I didn't. The vampire doesn't know what he's talking about. I didn't do it on purpose."

"Like I would believe you!" Harry growled. "You've lived a lie for the last twelve years! And I'd trust what he says before anything else. You know why?"

Hermione reached out her hand and placed it on Harry's shoulder, trying to calm him down. Harry's thoughts worried me; they'd now turned to revenge. I was hoping he could work around those thoughts because the last thing I wanted to do was go up against Harry and possibly hurt him while trying to stop him acting out said revenge. Sirius had started pacing; he was furious with what Peter had done and why. He couldn't believe he'd called him a friend at one point.

"So what's he doing here?" Remus, who had remained surprisingly calm, at least on the outside, asked as he pointed at Lestrange.

"It seems we were only half right about his reasons for escaping." I wandered around the small room—a bedroom, I just noticed—taking in everything that was going on. "Harry was one of the reasons. But the other was this snotty little pathetic man. None of us had noticed when the Weasleys were photographed for the paper—when they won the trip to Egypt—that Scabbers was in the picture. Somehow, Lestrange managed to get a copy in Azkaban and realized who Scabbers was. He wanted revenge for the loss of Voldemort and thought this was the best way to get it."

 _This is what wanting revenge leads to_. Isa snorted in her mind. _I wonder if Sirius and Remus have made that connection. That this could very well be what their future looked like before you talked them out of it._

They had, in fact, made that connection to the man who Isa was perched on. "It would seem so, sweet girl," I murmured quietly. "So where does this leave us, and what do we do with these two?"

"They need to own up to their actions!" Hermione said forcefully. "We need to turn them over to the dementors, and they need to pay for what they've done. Especially this piece of shit," Hermione swore, kicking her leg out at Pettigrew, who was sniveling on the floor. "Sorry."

Isa chuckled in her thoughts at Hermione's choice of words, causing me to smile. I wasn't going to tell her off for it because I'd thought much, much worse.

"Hermione's right." Every one swiveled in Harry's direction when he spoke up, much calmer than before. "They both need to pay for what they've done, and the only way to do that is to get them back to the dementors and have their memories extracted. I won't have my family members becoming murderers, and I won't do that myself. Justice will prevail."

"Then that's what we'll do. No, Sirius …" Remus held up his hand when Sirius started to argue. "Harry and Hermione are right. There is no need for more bloodshed, and we don't need that on our consciences. Let's get them back to the castle."

"Fine. But just know I don't like it." Sirius aimed his wand at Lestrange while Remus used his to tie up Pettigrew. "Bella, move please."

Isa huffed a rather large snort through her nose, leaning in and nipping at Lestrange's chin as a warning, before she climbed off him slowly.

"Are you gonna change back, Isa?"

 _Nope. Just want to be sure._

"Okay." I ran my hand over her head a few times, making her purr. "Shall we go?"

 _Yup._ With that thought, Isa spun. With her tail in the air and her head held high, she walked out of the room first. Hermione giggled at her before she ran her hand down Harry's arm, grabbed his hand, and pulled him out of the room behind Isa.

I looked over at our prisoners and their captors. "You guys go next; I'll keep track from the back."

Sirius and Remus nodded then forced their prisoners out the door with wands to their backs. Sirius was fuming; he'd wanted payback, no matter what I had said. But Harry's plea to turn Lestrange and Pettigrew in made him pause. He knew he didn't want to go to Azkaban—although now he knew how to escape—or live life on the run. And regardless of the fact that he knew all of that, he still wanted revenge.

"That's a dark and slippery slope, Sirius. If you continue to let that anger rule you, it will destroy you, either the inside of you or you'll do something you'll one day regret. I know. I've seen it hundreds of times," I said as I followed them down the stairs and into the room Isa and I had ran through first.

This whole shack was falling down around our ears. The wallpaper was peeling, with bare sections of walls in places and the walls missing in others. The staircase had creaked with every step we had taken, and the room at the bottom—which happened to be a living room—was in complete shambles. The furniture was falling apart, the rug on the floor was curling up like it had been exposed to moisture, and the roof had missing patches. I was surprised it had held up with all of us moving around upstairs.

Sirius sighed, bringing me back from my thoughts. "I know. I need to find a way to let it go. How do people deal with it?"

"In the muggle world, they let justice run its course, they get counselling, and they get closure. Sometimes, they only need the one; sometimes, they need all three. Let the system do what it needs to do. Peter will be punished for his crimes; we'll make sure of it."

"Thank you, Edward." Sirius thought about what I had said as we made our way down into the tunnel and back to the Whomping Willow.

I could only imagine how James must be feeling right now. To know the reason that your wife was murdered was right here, I know I'd feel like Sirius does. Especially considering he thought Peter was a friend. It still didn't make revenge right.

Every single one of us decided to take a small breather once we'd made it to the willow end of the tunnel. Just to breathe in some air that wasn't stale or full of dust. That, though, was our mistake. We had dropped our guard, myself included, so much so that I wasn't paying attention to the thoughts around me.

"What are you doing? Where's Scabbers?" a voice asked from behind the nearest trees of the forest, then Ron stepped out and into our line of sight with his wand pointed at Harry and Hermione. "And where's Isabella?"

"Ron. We can't stop and discuss …"

"Shut up, Hermione. I overheard Neville tell Remus that you lot had a lead on Scabbers, so I want to know where is my rat? Since it was your cat that was stalking him and ran him off, I don't want to hear from you."

I snorted out loud. I started explaining when Ron frowned in my direction. "Your rat wasn't a rat, Ronald. In fact, your rat is standing right over there." I pointed at Pettigrew. "Your rat was responsible for the death of Harry's parents, and he's been hiding among your family ever since."

"You're wrong," Ron yelled. "We would never harbor a criminal!"

"Well, you did!" Harry stormed forward. "And maybe if you hadn't kept him around, some cat would have really gotten him by now!" Sirius and Remus grabbed a hold of Harry as he stormed forward, with Hermione standing in front of him. "Let me go! He needs to pay!"

"No, Harry; he's not worth it. And he's not the one you're angry with." Hermione pushed back at him.

"Let him come. It's not like he could hurt me. Besides, nobody should touch you, mudblood," Ron sneered.

I growled at the word Ron had used, once again, to describe our family, but before I could make a move toward him, I had to catch Isa as she came barreling past me to launch herself at Ron. She struggled and pleaded with me to let her go, but really, it was Hermione we should have worried about because she stopped pushing at Harry, turned around, marched up to Ron, and without saying a word, punched him straight in the nose, knocking him out cold. That was twice Ron went down like a wet rag.

We all sort of stopped what we were doing because we were in shock. Harry stopped fighting, with Sirius and Remus letting him go, and Isa stopped struggling in my hold and just sort of sat with her mouth hanging open. In fact, I wasn't much better.

Though everything went to hell in a handbasket when Hermione turned around. Because as she did, she screamed and pointed behind us all, causing us to spin and see that in the distraction that Ron had caused, Lestrange and Pettigrew had managed to get their bonds undone. Working together, it seemed.

"Thanks for the entertainment tonight," Lestrange cackled evilly. "But it seems it's time for me to go. Don't worry, Peter, you'll get yours!" He sneered before we watched both of them in stunned silence transform into their animagus forms.

 _I'm going after Peter!_ Isa called before she bounded out of my arms, transforming once again, and running after the rat.

"Isa, be careful!" I called before transforming myself and going after Lestrange.

 _I'm always careful,_ Isa thought to me once I became my leopard. _You do the same, please?_

 _Will do._ It was then I realized that I was being followed by Sirius in his dog form.

 _Remus has gone after Bella. How long has he been able to transform into a wolf?_ Sirius thought to me, knowing I couldn't answer him, but asking the question anyway. _I'm gonna have to ask him what has been going on this year. Although, I assume you had something to do with that._

Seems Remus's dog was out of the bag, so to speak. I looked in his direction, smirked slightly, before picking up on Lestrange's strange scent. Now that I knew what it was, I could smell what made us different from other wizards. I'd never noticed that about Sirius and James before and wondered whether something had changed in Isa's and my scent. I could have poured on the speed to catch him faster and easier, but for all I knew, he could use wandless magic against me. Instead, I kept pace with Sirius. Being a former auror, he would be able to defend us from anything Lestrange might throw our way, but not only that, I didn't know what my speed was, and I could have left Sirius behind in the dust.

 _There he is!_ Sirius almost shouted.

We'd barreled over the grassland after Lestrange's hyena form. Jumping rocks, swerving trees, and ducking under the roots when they were sticking up too high. We were gaining on him just as we reached the Black Lake. It was there I was able to add on a burst of speed and tackle him to the ground. Lestrange didn't go down easily; he turned and fought back, hard. Sirius joined in the fight, and for the next few minutes, everything was instinct. I don't remember much, but there was growling, scratching, biting, and limbs flailing everywhere. At one point, Lestrange had Sirius by the tail while I'd bitten down on his rear leg, trying to pull him away.

I bit down hard, piercing the skin, and chomping down on the muscles and sinews, causing Lestrange to let out a painful howl. He let go of Sirius and collapsed onto the ground, changing back into his human form. Sirius and I did the same thing and stood over the panting form of Lestrange. We were about to congratulate each other on capturing the escaped fugitive, for the second time, when a freezing cold wind blew through the clearing we were standing in. The lake froze over; the plants turned black and curled up and just about died.

"Oh, no," Sirius moaned, looking up.

"Oh, God." I followed his gaze and saw hundreds of dementors converging on our location. They were moving too fast, and they were too close. I'd only just managed to extend my wand from my gauntlet when the first ten descended on us.

The effect of that many dementors was instantaneous. I couldn't cast my patronus because the pain that shot through me was indescribable. I heard screaming coming from all around me as the dementors sucked the happiness and the souls from us.

I had just collapsed to my knees when a bright light appeared from the other side of the lake. I fell to my hands, panting hard, as the light grew brighter and warmer, running off the dementors as it spread over the lake. By the time I'd collapsed on my side, I was able to look over at Sirius and Lestrange. I watched as bright blue balls of light hovered over their mouths before lowering back into their bodies, causing both of them to suck in large breaths of air like they'd stopped breathing.

"Teddy!" I heard from off to the side of me. "Teddy!" This time I could hear footsteps running closer. "Edward!" I looked up just as Isa landed on her knees next to me, running her hands over my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I slurred a little. "Did you?" I waved my hand around clumsily.

"No," she urged. "I was chasing down Pettigrew when I felt them come over. It was Harry. Harry saved you. Just rest, Edward. We've got others coming to help. We'll get you up to the castle to rest in the hospital wing."

"I should be fine in a little while," I murmured, looking up into her beautiful eyes.

"I know," she whispered. "But for me, please? Plus, it will get someone into the wing to hear what's going on. And you need chocolate, a mountain of it, after you were close to so many of them."

I smiled, feeling better already. "I could hear that from the Common Room."

"This way, you can rest, without the questions because you know the Weasleys will pepper you with questions." Isa giggled.

"Okay, okay. Twist my arm. Did you get Pettigrew?"

Isa frowned and shook her head hard. "No," she growled. "The little rat ran into the forest, diving into a hole under a raised root of a large tree. At first, that's all we thought it was; by the time we'd dug out most of the hole, we realized it was actually a rabbit warren. By then, the dementors were on the way, so we abandoned our search and came here as fast as we could. Harry isn't happy, but what could we do?"

"Nothing, sweet girl. You did what you could. Peter Pettigrew will show his face again. Of that, I have no doubt."

~*~UHS~*~

It didn't take long for Professors Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall to join Professor Lupin at the edge of the lake where I was now sitting with Isa beside me. Sirius and Lestrange were still unconscious next to me. We'd convinced Harry and Hermione to go back to the Common Room; there was no need to have them in trouble, especially Harry. Isa and I could handle what was going to happen.

"Let's get them all up to the hospital wing, even Mr. Masen. Will you be able to fill us in when we're there?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah, of course." Lupin helped me stand and wrapped my arm around his shoulders while Snape and Professor McGonagall waved their wands and produced a couple stretchers and maneuvered Sirius and Lestrange onto them. "You don't have to help me."

Remus laughed. "For as much strength as you've gathered back, right now, if I let you go, you'd wobble like a newborn foal and probably fall to the ground."

I took a few steps, resting on Remus's shoulders, and realized he might be right. My legs were rather wobbly. I couldn't believe the dementors had affected me that badly, but then I'd never come across that many of them before.

"I think you might be right. Wow."

Isa and Remus laughed softly at my reaction. But they continued on with me as we slowly made our way to the castle behind the others who were moving Sirius and Lestrange. It took a while, but eventually, we made it up to the hospital wing. Remus helped me over to a bed that was near the door while Professor McGonagall placed Sirius right next to me.

"What are we going to do with this one, sir?" Snape asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Until he wakes up and can be transported to the Ministry, he should be in here. But he will have to be restrained."

 _Maybe I'll stay._ Isa thought, watching as Snape moved Lestrange to the bed next to Sirius and magically restrained his arms to the bedframe. _You could always use a leopard friend._

I chuckled at her thoughts. "That may be a good idea. I'm sure Harry and Hermione can fill the others in eventually."

While I wriggled around trying to get comfortable on the hospital bed, I ranged out my mindreading, trying to hear what was going on around the castle and whether anyone outside our group of friends—here I rolled my eyes—and Ron knew anything about what had happened. What I found though, when I reached the Gryffindor Common Room, was something that confused me at first.

Fred and George, and even Ginny, were sitting on the lounges in the tower, and they were absolutely killing themselves with laughter. I could hear George trying to call me in his thoughts, but it was stuttering because he couldn't get through it without laughing. It actually made me chuckle quietly to myself. It was funny to listen to.

 _What's going on?_ Isa asked, fluffing my pillow and straightening out my blanket.

"Something is making the Weasleys crack up so much that they can't even think my name," I murmured, watching as Madame Pomfrey bustled into the wing. "I can't wait to see what's making them laugh so hard."

 _You'll have to share._

I rolled my eyes at her. Of course, I would share what was so funny with her.

 _Oi, Edward! I hope you're listening. Ron came back from wherever it was that he went. He reckons it was into the Forbidden Forest._ Here George snorted in his thoughts. _He came back with two black eyes. We asked him what happened …_ George broke out into laughter all over again. George's reaction was just as amusing as the story behind it. _He said …_ more laughter … _he said that he was hit … in the face … by a dementor!_ With that last thought, George bent over in laughter once again.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little before it burst out of me. I couldn't believe the little sneak tried to pull off what he did. I looked around to see that everyone was looking at me like I had gone crazy, even Isa, which made me laugh that much harder. Although Isa was smirking at me, she knew I'd finally heard what the Weasleys had been laughing at.

"Everything all right, Edward?" Professor Dumbledore asked, walking over to the end of my bed.

It took a few minutes, but I was, eventually, able to calm myself down. "Yes, sir. Just remembered something funny." Professor Dumbledore nodded with a smile on his face before turning back to Remus, Snape, and Professor McGonagall.

 _What's so funny, Teddy?_ Isa asked as she sat on the edge of my bed and held my hand.

I'd just finished explaining it to Isa, and enjoying watching her laugh, when there was a gasp from the bed on the other side of Sirius before some rushed footsteps.

"Rabastan? What are you doing here?" We both looked up when we heard Madame Pomfrey speak. We saw her leaning over the unconscious Lestrange, running her fingers down his face.

Professor McGonagall walked over and wrapped her arm around Madame Pomfrey's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Poppy, but he's under arrest. He escaped from Azkaban. Surely you know that?"

We heard our nurse sniffle. "I do. But why is he here?"

"It doesn't matter," a voice sounded from the door. Everyone's head swiveled to find the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge. "He's a criminal, and he needs to be transferred to the tower until the aurors arrive."

"Cornelius, he's unconscious. I think he should be here in the hospital," Professor Dumbledore argued.

"No. He is an escaped prisoner, and he needs to be placed back into custody. A hospital wing in the school is not a place for him; transfer him there immediately. There will be consequences if my directive is not followed. Do not push me on this, Albus." Fudge stood his ground.

Isa and I were stunned silent at the display in front of us. It seemed the minister was taking a no-holds-barred position, and he expected everyone to follow along, including Professor Dumbledore.

"Certainly, Minister. Remus, Severus, if you please." Professor Dumbledore agreed, surprising us both, as he waved his hand at Lestrange, loosening the bonds that had been placed on him.

"But, but …" Madame Pomfrey started to argue.

"No buts, Madame Pomfrey," Fudge interrupted. "He has escaped once, and we will not give him a chance to do it again. Transfer him to the tower; the aurors shall be along shortly."

I frowned. There was something off about his voice and his thoughts, like he wasn't quite being truthful. I just couldn't get a read on what he was thinking. It was like he was determined not to think about whatever he was thinking, and that was messing up the whole process. I was surprised he hadn't tripped over his words.

What could Cornelius Fudge be up to?

~*~UHS~*~

*The prophesy used in this chapter is courtesy of JK Rowling and her story "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Page 238.

* * *

 **Considering everything the Minister for Magic has put our favorite characters through, what do you think he's up to? And was anyone really surprised that the government did what they wanted?**

 **See you all in a fortnight for the last chapter.**


	17. Chapter Sixteen - Party Hard

**This is it, the last chapter for Under Her Spell ~ Book Three. I can't believe it's come so soon. I'm a little sad to be honest. Now, just to let you all know, I'm only halfway through Book Four. You all know I won't post until it's completely finished, so it may be some time.**

 **My thanks go to Pienuniek and Sally one last time for this story. It wouldn't be what it is without either of them. Thank you ladies, you both mean the world to me. Enjoy your hard earned break.**

 **Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling respectively. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **Phew ... I can't believe it. The end of another one ...**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen – Party Hard**

Everyone was quiet while Snape and Remus floated a bound Lestrange out of the hospital wing, with Minister Fudge following. Madame Pomfrey was also going to go with them but was told she wasn't allowed to, in no uncertain terms by the minister, and that she had better attend to those who were in the hospital to begin with.

After quietly doing as she was told, she fled the hospital wing in tears. I couldn't help but feel for the poor woman. During all of her schooling, she'd had the biggest crush on Rabastan Lestrange, only to be completely heartbroken when she had heard he'd joined up or been a founding member of Voldemort's death eaters. She had cried herself to sleep at the beginning of his term in Azkaban but had been strangely hopeful when he'd turned up in her hospital wing this evening.

 _Poor thing,_ Isa thought as she watched Madame Pomfrey flee. _She only wanted to look after the one she loved. Can't blame her for that. On that note, you need to eat this, Teddy._

I took the piece of chocolate as I looked up at my tenderhearted mate and brought her hand up for a kiss. "Definitely not and thank you."

"Edward, what happened? How did you end up with none other than Lestrange?" Professor Dumbledore asked, coming to stand at the end of my bed.

I snorted. "That, sir, is a long and twisted tale. Where would you like me to start?"

"Just start at the beginning, please."

So that's what Isa and I did; we told it right from the beginning. What I noticed was that we weren't alone. It seemed Fred and George had finally taken a step into creating their line of spy gear and were out in the hall, listening in with their prototype of what they were calling an Extendable Ear.

They'd heard Harry and Hermione's stories of what had happened and wanted to know what we had been through, not that we wouldn't have told them, but I needed to know if this invention of theirs was going to work. It certainly was interesting.

The first time Professor Dumbledore interrupted was to clarify something. "How did you get into the tunnel under the Whomping Willow?"

Isa and I glanced at each other, not giving away our Animagus status. There were too many ears right now, even if Professor McGonagall suspected. "Ah, Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, flew out of the forest after Scabbers and hit the knot on the root base. After that, it was just a matter of sliding into the tunnel."

We watched as Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at the door to silently cast a spell on the hospital wing itself. Isa and I looked back at him, both with an eyebrow raised, wondering what he had done.

"I cast the Muffliato charm so nobody outside this room can hear the conversation," he explained softly. "Please continue."

I was glad the twins had been able to get their extendable ear inside the door; otherwise, they'd be unable to continue listening.

Isa took over telling our story with our run through the tunnel and up into the Shrieking Shack, which caused McGonagall to gasp—she hadn't known where that tunnel went to, and what had happened to Sirius when he'd run past us into the room to be disarmed by Lestrange. This was where we had to … fudge the story a little. Due to the fact that we didn't want our status known, Isa explained that she used her shield to capture and subdue the escaped convict. Her shield, at least, was well known.

"Wait, wait," Professor McGonagall interrupted the next time. "So Ronald's rat was Peter Pettigrew all along?"

"Yes, ma'am," Isa and I both answered together.

"And Rabastan Lestrange was here to capture or kill him for payback?" she asked again.

"Yes, ma'am," I said while Isa nodded.

Dumbledore was like a kid on Christmas. "So what happened next?"

I smiled as I heard the twins shift to lean forward, like that would help them hear better through the ear, but we continued on with the story anyway.

"And the next thing I knew, I was pouncing on Lestrange at the edge of the Black Lake before the dementors arrived to attack us," I finished quietly, taking some more chocolate from Isa.

Professor Dumbledore turned to Isa with a speculative look upon his face. "And what happened with Pettigrew?"

The pout that formed on Isa's face was almost comical. "Unfortunately, sir, he managed to escape. I just wasn't fast enough."

"He'll resurface," Professor Dumbledore said. "All those with bad intentions usually do."

"That's what I told her." I smirked up at my girl. "He'll be back. And I'm sure he'll bring others with him. People like him never do anything by themselves. You'll get another chance, pretty girl."

"Good," she grumped. "So what happens next?"

We watched as Professor Dumbledore removed the silencing spell from the hospital wing before turning to us. "Next, we finish out the school year, and enjoy some holidays, before we start something completely different next year."

I frowned, wondering what he was on about, because I could no longer read his thoughts; he'd locked them down tight. I was about to open my mouth to ask when the doors flew open, and Cornelius Fudge waltzed back in like he owned the place, with Madame Pomfrey following close behind.

"The _kiss_ has been performed, and the dementors have been returned to Azkaban," Fudge announced, without preamble, and would have continued to talk had Dumbledore not spun around and glared at him, madder than I'd ever seen Professor Dumbledore before.

Before Professor Dumbledore could speak, Madame Pomfrey burst into tears. Fudge didn't say anything but frowned over at the poor woman who had just had the love of her life pulled away from her, not that he knew that, ignorant fool. Professor McGonagall gasped softly before she moved as quickly, and as ladylike as I'd ever seen, over to our nurse to comfort her. Professor McGonagall turned Madame Pomfrey around and led her out of the room to her office.

"What do you mean the kiss has been performed? You brought those creatures into the castle, deliberately, even after we agreed it wouldn't be in the student's best interests?" Professor Dumbledore spat.

"This needed to be handled, and I handled it as I saw fit. I am the Minister for Magic, and when I want something done, it happens," Fudge stated arrogantly.

 _Not if I have anything to say. What a poor excuse for a man._

I snorted softly at Isa's thoughts, nodding when she looked over at me. We both decided it would be best to stay quiet during their talk and listen for anything that may be deemed useful later on. For the next several minutes, we watched and listened as they both argued back and forth over who had more pull—Fudge as Minister or Dumbledore as Headmaster of Hogwarts. In the end, I thought it was pretty evenly matched because Professor Dumbledore was older and knew many, many more people.

"This argument is pointless. The deed is done, and the dementors have left. The prisoner is being prepared to be transferred to St. Mungo's …"

The minister was about to continue on his latest rhetoric, or he would have, if not for Madame Pomfrey interrupting him, by not only coming back into the wing but speaking, before he went to speak.

"Excuse me, Minister, but Rabastan Lestrange will not be going to St. Mungo's." She pointed her wand to the end of the ward where a bed and several screens were moved around to make a completely closed-off quarantined area where one could potentially keep someone hidden from the world for a long time. "Rabastan will stay right here where someone who cares about him will take care of him. Headmaster, do you have a problem with this?"

Professor Dumbledore smiled just a little. "It seems you have everything under control. As long as the students don't see him and you plan to take care of all of his needs, then no, I don't have a problem with it. Minister?"

The Minister seemed to be standing around in shock, his mouth hanging open and with not much to say.

"Minister Fudge? Do you have a problem?" Professor Dumbledore asked again.

"Oh, uh … no. I don't think so. Just keep him out of anyone's line of sight; in fact, place a magical barrier around it. We don't want prying eyes making their way in there. Now if you excuse me, I have to make an addition to tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet." With flair that I hadn't seen since Professor Lockhart, the minister turned and flounced out of the hospital wing.

"Ugh," Sirius groaned from the bed next to me. "I always knew Fudge was a head-in-the-sand kind of bloke, but that was something else."

I couldn't tell you how relieved we all were when Sirius woke up. He'd been out for so long that I'd begun to worry about what had actually happened at the lake. From what Dumbledore had thought when I was explaining, it seemed their souls had begun to be sucked out, and had Harry left it any longer to save us, we would have all succumbed to what would have been the dementor's kiss.

I managed to stand from my bed as Isa rushed over to his side to hug him and give him some chocolate, which he tried to refuse but ended up eating it because Isa shoved it in his mouth as he continued to argue. I laughed because he wasn't the first I'd seen that happen to.

"Good to see you awake, old friend," Dumbledore murmured from the foot of Sirius's bed. "I'm afraid you will have to be here a bit longer than your vampire friend though."

"You too, Albus," Sirius said before he turned to me. "Did we get them? Please tell me we got them."

I opened my mouth to answer him but was interrupted by the doors to the wing being thrown open. Snape stormed into the hospital with his usual scowl firmly in place, followed by a stretcher; Remus Lupin bringing up the rear.

"What are we to do with this … thing?" Snape sneered, waving his hand in the direction of the empty Lestrange. If it weren't for his chest rising and falling, and the fact that I could still hear his heartbeat, one would assume he was dead. But I suppose that dead might, now, need a new definition. Because living like this, being without ones soul, should really be classed as dead.

"He's to be placed into quarantine at the back of the hospital wing. Nobody is to disturb him after you place him there." Dumbledore pointed to the area where Madame Pomfrey stood waiting. Professor Dumbledore turned to Isa and me once he was done directing traffic. "I think it's time for you and Miss Swan to return to your Common Room, Mr. Masen. You've recovered well from your incident with the dementors." That was what he said out loud. It was his thoughts after that really caught my attention. _I would like for you to meet me in my office with Isabella, Harry, and Hermione in half an hour. Please._ He added that last word like it was an afterthought. I couldn't tell what was more disturbing, the fact that he didn't like secrets, yet kept an abundance of them, or that he just didn't like them being kept from him while he had his own.

I was starting to see Isa's point from last year.

"Of course, professor. Goodnight, everyone." I pulled Isa toward the door after she said her own goodnights.

 _We're not going to bed yet, are we?_ Isa yawned as she thought it.

"Unfortunately not, sweetheart. We're to collect Harry and Hermione and meet Professor Dumbledore in his office."

 _What for?_

"He knew we didn't tell the whole truth about everything."

Isa snorted. _And he wants to know all of our secrets. Surprising, not. Well, maybe I'll show him what we were hiding._

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea. He's an old man, Isa, and jumping on him like that might give him a heart attack."

 _Hmph. Fine. Doesn't mean I won't give him a demonstration._

I chuckled at her thoughts, which kept me entertained all the way to the seventh floor where our Common Room was located. After giving the Fat Lady the password, we walked in to find that all the Gryffindors had gone to bed, except for Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and the twins, Fred and George. They were all relaxing on the chairs and lounges around the fireplace—which was still needed because the castle was so old and drafty—waiting until we returned.

"What happened?" all of them blurted out at once, coming to their feet, which caused Isa and me to laugh.

"Don't you know? Fred and George were listening in, after all." I snickered at their looks of surprise, especially the twins. They didn't think I'd know. "I can't believe, after all this time, that you guys thought you'd get one past me. Didn't you hear everything?"

George huffed. "Our extendable ear was working fine, at least to start with, then after talking about the Whomping Willow it didn't work anymore."

"So after that, we couldn't hear a damn thing!" Fred threw his hands in the air. He seemed to be more agitated than George was, and I wondered why until I read his thoughts. It seemed that Fred really wanted this invention to work; this was something he really wanted to do with his life. Make gadgets, and sweets, that could be used for both fun, play, and work. Sure, George wanted that too, but he was more laid back about the whole thing.

Isa giggled at them. "That might have been when Professor Dumbledore cast the Muffliato spell. It's a silencing spell that stops people from listening in from outside the room."

"The what?" Fred and George both asked, making everyone else chuckle at them.

"The Muffliato spell," Hermione began, "is a spell that casts a dome-like bubble inside a room that keeps all sounds inside while blocking all others out. It helps to keep a conversation secret, should you want to have something kept completely confidential."

The explanation was all it took. They both sat down and started brainstorming ideas on what to do about their extendable ears. They now had an obvious flaw—the fact that their ears could be affected by outside spells—and it was something they were going to research, study, try, and then figure out a way around any others they might find.

"As much as we'd like to sit around and tell you guys about what happened in the hospital wing, Professor Dumbledore would like to see the two of us, Harry, and Hermione in his office. We can fill you in when we get back." I nodded in the direction of the door for Harry and Hermione to follow.

"Oh, sure," Ginny whined. "Leave Neville and me with these two! What will we do with our time?"

"Uh, sleep," Isa suggested with a mom voice she'd gotten from Esme and Molly as she turned toward the door. "It's after midnight, you know."

It was Neville and Ginny's last words as we walked out the door that made all of us crack up. "Yes, Mum!"

~*~UHS~*~

The four of us were quiet while we made our way to Dumbledore's office. Well, that was until we made it to the corridor that led to his gargoyle staircase. It was Hermione who broke the silence.

"What does Professor Dumbledore want with us, Edward?"

I sighed. "Isa and I weren't as convincing in our retelling of the story as we'd hoped to be, so he wants to know what we're hiding. Not that I want to tell him; I'd like to keep some things secret. It annoys me that he wants everything else transparent for him but keeps things to himself when it comes to everything else."

"Ooookay." Harry looked over at me with wide eyes. "That was … unexpected. But what does he want with Hermione and me?"

 _Hmm, maybe I won't transform in front of him. Does he really need to know?_ Isa thought. "I presume it's because of that wonderful patronus you cast to scare away that many dementors. Because it really was stunning, Harry."

"Thank you, Bella. But what is all this about?"

"Later," I murmured. "I'll explain it all much later." We'd made it to the gargoyle guarding the stairs. I turned to Isa and whispered to her, "You're right. Let's keep it to ourselves. He doesn't need to know."

 _Got it._ _What if he pushes the matter?_

"I'll step in. He doesn't need to know."

Isa nodded before taking the step up onto the moving staircase behind Hermione, who was looking back at us with a speculative expression. _So you don't want Professor Dumbledore to know about your animagus forms?_ she asked, looking at me. I shook my head; I wanted to try and keep that to ourselves. _What if Professor McGonagall has squealed?_ This time I shrugged. _Okay,_ she nodded, _deny, deny, deny. Don't say anything._

Professor Dumbledore met us at the door to his office and guided us through to the painting-free room we used before, shutting the door and, once again, casting the Muffliato spell.

"Thank you for joining me here so late this evening. We have much to go through; please, take a seat." Professor Dumbledore indicated the chairs and couches that were around the room. "I just want to say that, despite everything, all of you have done a brilliant job today. You caught an escaped criminal, and exposed another one, regardless of the fact that he got away."

Hermione and Harry spun around to face Isa and me, surprised, but also mad, at least one of them anyway. It seemed Isa hadn't told them what had happened when she made it to the lake. And Dumbledore wasn't playing fair; he was using this news as a tactic to get us to spill on everything that had happened. Well, the fool was him because to rat ourselves out would also rat out Remus, and he wasn't ready to share.

"What?" Harry growled. "Pettigrew escaped? How?"

Hermione reached over and grabbed Harry's arm. "Calm down. I'm sure they were going to tell us."

"I'm sorry." Harry took a deep breath. "I'm not upset with you. Just that he's gone. What happened?"

I knew what had happened, Isa had told me out by the lake, but I knew she would put more detail in this explanation for Harry.

Isa leaned forward from her seat next to me and rested her elbows on her knees, looking Harry directly in the eyes. "Once both he and Lestrange transformed into their animagus forms, Edward and Sirius went after Lestrange—as you know—and you know that Remus and I chased Pettigrew." Harry nodded along. "I was able to follow him through the grass pretty easily, being that my eyesight is better than most, and used the moving grass as a way to track him. Then once he hit the edge of the forest, it was even easier.

"We both followed him through and around a few trees until he dove into a hole under the root system of one of the bigger trees. Remus and I both dove to the ground and started digging, trying to pin him down. What we didn't realize at the time was that it wasn't just an ordinary hole in the ground; this one was a rabbit warren. By the time we realized what it was, the dementors were descending and I had to …"

"Come to try to help Edward," Harry finished. "I get that. What about Remus? Did he continue?"

Isa nodded. "He did, for a few more minutes anyway, but he was unable to find him. He did find the end of the warren, several trees away, but by then, Pettigrew was long gone. We're pretty sure Peter must have scouted it out earlier. Probably when he escaped from Lestrange in the tower before Hagrid found him."

"What happens now?" Hermione asked quietly as if she thought she was interrupting.

I smirked over at Isa but let her answer this question too. "Well, I have it on good authority that someone like this will always make a comeback. They just can't help themselves. We'll get another shot at him."

"Indeed we will," Professor Dumbledore said from across the room. We'd almost forgotten he was there. "Can I ask you a couple questions, Bella?"

"Of course, professor."

This was what we'd been waiting for. He wanted to know things, things we weren't ready to divulge, so we'd see where he took this. Harry, Hermione, and I all sat back while Isa sat up straight, giving Dumbledore her full attention.

"You said you were able to track Pettigrew by following the moving grass. How were you able to move so fast? He was in rat form, after all."

"That one's easy. We found out over the summer that I'm actually quite fast; not as fast as Edward, but certainly as fast as some of my other vampire family members. It's amazing what you find out about yourself." Isa smiled sweetly at Professor Dumbledore.

"Mmhmm. What about digging? You dug with your hands, correct?" Isa nodded. "Fell to your knees, I presume." Again, Isa nodded. "How is it only your hands show evidence of digging? There's none on your clothes."

"Well, let's see. I was digging; Remus was digging. Oh, I forgot to mention Crookshanks had followed us, and he was digging. I fell to my knees beside Edward at the lake too; maybe they got wet, and the dirt washed off." Isa shrugged. "Did you interrogate Remus as to why he wasn't covered in dirt?"

"No. I haven't had the chance to talk to him about all of this yet. But I find this all very curious because I know you lot know what Remus is. How is it you're not afraid of his werewolf form? Last night was part of the full moon cycle, after all."

Isa opened her mouth, but it was Hermione who piped up, answering that particular question. "Was it? I hadn't noticed. I was fighting with Ron and didn't see him transform. By the time I turned around, they were all gone."

"I'm sorry, headmaster, but have you seen how fast they all are? To me, it was all a blur, and the only thing I was sure of was that Hermione and I were all alone in the blink of an eye," Harry said with a shrug after Hermoine finished speaking. "We can't tell you what we didn't see."

Internally, I smirked. Professor Dumbledore wasn't getting anything out of us, and I could see he wasn't happy about it at all. For every question he had, we had an answer. As much as I loved that he had brought us into this world, and given me my mate, he wasn't forthcoming with what he wanted us to do, needed to know, or what he had planned for the future. So for now, we'd give him only what he needed to know.

Professor Dumbledore sighed, crossed his arms, and looked at us speculatively. "Very well then. In that case, I want to say well done to you, Harry. Your patronus was seen from the castle; in fact, it was part of the reason we were able to pinpoint where you were. Only a very strong wizard would be able to cast a patronus that strong."

"Thank you, sir." Harry nodded as he stood. "I couldn't have done it without my family." He gestured to the rest of us. "They've taught me so much. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."

Again, Dumbledore sighed as he stood. "No, Harry. I don't mind. You've answered my questions. Get rested. Tomorrow is the end of year feast and the last day of school."

"Goodnight, sir," Hermione, Isa, and I stated as we stood and followed Harry out of the room, through the main office, and down the moving stairs. We were all quiet, not wanting to say anything until we were well away from Professor Dumbledore's office. He always knew more than what was going on, which led me to believe there was more than what met the eye about this castle.

Once we'd reached the stairs leading up to the seventh floor, it was Hermione who broke the silence. "So what was that all about? Just wanting to know what had happened?"

"Professor Dumbledore's not happy with only knowing the bare basics of information. He was hoping that with you two there we'd be more forthcoming with information," I explained. "He didn't expect us to pull the same card."

"Why didn't you want him to know?" Hermione asked quietly, looking up at me with a furrowed brow. "It seems he's been pretty forthcoming with us."

"Sure, sometimes. Isa and I have found that Professor Dumbledore is really rather clever. He tells you enough to keep you intrigued, enough that you want to research everything yourself, and enough that you shouldn't need to ask questions. After that, he keeps things close to the chest."

"There's something he's not telling us about this whole mess," Isa murmured. "Especially about the horcruxes we told you about. There's something more to it, and until I figure it out, it'll drive me completely nuts."

"Do you think it has something to do with me? Is that why he takes an unusual interest in what I can do?" Harry whispered.

I let out a large breath. "It has everything to do with you, Harry. Everything. I have a feeling you're the key to eventually stopping what's coming in our direction."

"No pressure."

I stopped on the stairs, causing everyone to stop behind me, before turning to Harry and placing my hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Harry, but yes, it may be a lot of pressure. I promise Isa and I are working on finding out all we can so you can know beforehand what's going on. As soon as we know anything, we'll keep you in the loop."

"Promise?" Harry looked up at me. He was scared out of his mind, but I could see his determination to fight whatever was coming.

"We promise." Isa popped up in between us, causing us to laugh. "Not only that, but we promise to be there to see it all through, right to the end. Family forever."

Hermione reached out and grabbed his hand. "Family forever."

"Forever." Harry nodded before letting out a yawn. "Time for bed."

~*~UHS~*~

"Another year, gone. Time seems to pass so quickly these days." Professor Dumbledore stood at the podium at the front of the Great Hall before the last feast, like always. "We should be grateful for the fact that this year was quieter than most, even with the looming threat of the dementors and Rabastan Lestrange."

I snorted. Sure there really was no threat for anyone else, only our family. As usual.

"I want to congratulate you all on another successful year, some more so than others. But enough from me. It's time to announce the winner of the House Cup. In fourth place, with three-hundred and twenty-three points, is Hufflepuff. In third, with a respectable three-hundred and eighty-six points, is Ravenclaw." Professor Dumbledore paused to let the celebrating die down a little. I don't know how both houses were happy with the fact that, every year, they never made it to first place. Although that could be my competitive streak coming out. "In second place, with a brilliant four-hundred and thirty-three points, Slytherin!" Again, there was a pause for the applause, mostly from the Slytherin's themselves, but it was noisy enough that Dumbledore had to stop. "And in first place, once again, with four-hundred and eighty-eight points, Gryffindor.

"Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"

The noise in the Great Hall was deafening. Isa was laughing at Fred and George, who were chanting about it being the third year in a row. Oliver Wood was cheering because not only had we won the Quidditch Cup, we'd now won the House Cup as well. He was finishing his school career on the highest note possible. Oliver couldn't be prouder.

I was thrilled, celebrating with all of my family and friends, but it begged the question.

What was going to happen next year?

~*~UHS~*~

"Oh, I can't wait to sleep in," Isa groaned from next to me on the Hogwarts Express. We were nearing the end of our journey, and not one of us could wait until we were home for the summer. This year had been trying on so many levels. Even I was looking forward to the break.

"I can't wait to let you," I whispered against her temple as I pulled her closer to me. "I'm hoping this summer might be a little quieter than the last one."

"Me to. Although I cannot wait to see Emmett and Rosalie's house, nor for Neville to be closer to us. Do you think you'll have to go to your gran's first, Neville?"

The boy in question looked up from the book he was reading on Advanced Herbology. "Uh, I have no idea. I haven't heard hide nor hair from Gran since the howler she sent me earlier in the year. Guess we'll have to wait and see who's picking me up from the train station."

"You know what I want to do this summer?" Hermione asked out loud, but it was her thoughts that caused me to chuckle. "Shut it, Edward!" she laughed.

I held my hands up in surrender. "I'm not laughing at your idea. In fact, I think it's brilliant; it's just that's something Alice would totally celebrate. Maybe you should get together with her to plan it."

"What are you talking about?" Fred and George asked together.

Hermione pouted a little at being laughed at but answered anyway. "I want to throw a party to celebrate the fact that we managed a whole year at Hogwarts without a run-in with Voldemort."

"Oooh, that is a good idea!" Ginny squealed quietly. "Do you think I could help?"

"Sure, why not? Come sit over here, and we can discuss ideas."

I looked down at Isa as she cuddled farther into my side. "You're not going to give them a hand, sweetheart?" She shook her head in answer to my question. "Why not?"

 _As much fun as that would be, I do enough planning during the year. I just want to enjoy it; let them have their fun._

"Fair enough, sweet girl," I whispered to her before turning back to the cabin. "Do you have any plans for the summer, Harry?"

"Nope. Relaxing, hanging out with you guys. Not much else."

I nodded and looked around the cabin that we'd commandeered when we'd gotten on the train. We managed to find one that had a wall that could be opened up into another cabin. I wasn't sure how it worked because I knew that others had managed to enter into the cabin, which was supposed to be next door. I was glad, though, that we'd figured out this special cabin because we had two more people in our cabin than the others.

I loved the way it had extended itself. The original seat had moved with the wall to make the room that much wider, meaning that the window had moved to the center of the outside wall when the cabin had extended. So that meant a seat was able to be placed on either side of it and a table in between. It was there my attention was drawn to because Fred and George were having a rousing game of Exploding Snap. The fun part about this game was that it was completely spontaneous when the cards would explode. There was no rhyme or reason to it; they didn't even explode when there was a pair made—most of the time—it was simply whenever they felt like it, which made the game that much more exciting. Fred and George were having an absolute ball.

Isa's mind had been going a mile a minute, her thoughts jumping from one thought to the next, but it was the last thought before she spoke that caught my attention.

"Harry?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Professor Dumbledore said your patronus was one of the strongest he'd ever seen, that it would take a really strong wizard to create one like that. What were you thinking of to create it?"

Isa's question hadn't just caught my attention but everyone's. It was something they had all wondered since the retelling but had never known how to actually do so. They all stopped what they were doing to hear what Harry had to say.

"Way to put me on the spot." Harry chuckled at Isa's innocent face and shoulder shrug. "But to answer your question, the memory I always used was the fact that I still had my dad and godfather around; it was the happiest I could be at the time." We all nodded, understanding that, at times, he was sadder than others, missing his mother. "Well, over the years, you guys had started filling parts of a family I didn't even know I was missing, and slowly, that memory changed to include one or two of you at a time. That night, though, everyone's faces raced through my mind as I ran to the lakeside. But it was Dad, in his animagus form, standing opposite me that helped me focus. I had to keep all of you safe, and that was the most prominent thought when I said the spell. The next thing I knew that massive patronus flew out of the end of my wand."

"Huh," Isa murmured. "Well then, maybe it's not just a happy thought that produces a patronus but the desire to protect oneself, or others, that makes it all the stronger. Something to consider at least."

That comment from Isa spun through everyone's minds. For me, that made me wonder if what the "experts" knew about spells was just something they had been taught. Had anyone ever experimented with changing how a particular spell was made?

For the last half hour, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, just resting and listening to what was going on. Not that there was a whole lot because the kids were all just excited for the break from school. There was a lot of loud chatter, plans being made, and fun being had. It made me smile just listening to it because they had all the time in the world.

I stiffened and sat up slightly when the thoughts got louder, as well as the voices, because we started to slow down for the trip into London and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

 _You okay, Teddy?_

I nodded, kissing her head. "We're nearly there. Did you feel the change in speed?"

 _Yep. I can't wait to be home._

"Me either."

In the time it took to pull closer to Kings Cross Station, our little group tidied up our cabin and made the change back to a single one, with the twins going off and saying goodbye to some of their friends for the summer. We sat quietly and observed out the window the things we had missed during our time at Hogwarts. The streets full of people, cars driving on the roads—which I must admit was one thing I missed while being at school all year—and the togetherness that you could only experience over breaks from school.

Pulling into Kings Cross Station was an exercise in patience for many. The children wanted to be off the train and out of the station as fast as possible. It was trying on my patience due to the amount of noise I could hear inside my head. At least at Hogwarts, there were a limited amount of people I had to listen to, but inside the train station, it took time to acclimate myself to it all. In fact, for the first twenty minutes or so, I could feel it all throbbing inside my head. I couldn't wait until we were able to start getting out of London.

"Edward?" I heard quietly beside me. I turned to face Neville, who had taken a place next to me. "Can you hear anything on the platform?"

I knew what Neville was asking, and try as I might, I couldn't find any thoughts among the hundreds who were standing on the platform; there were just too many. I shook my head. "Sorry, Neville. I haven't acclimatized yet, and I can't hear anything specific." I watched as the disappointment fell over his face. "I can keep trying, if you want?"

"No, that's fine. Thank you for at least trying. Guess we'll find out when we get out onto the platform."

Regardless of the fact that Neville said no, I continued to scan the thoughts on the platform as my mind got used to all the extra minds around me. It wasn't until I'd stepped off the carriage and onto the platform that I caught a whiff of two minds coming toward us. I turned around to help Isa step off the train, grimacing as I did so, because Emmett's thoughts had hit my consciousness.

Isa frowned down at me, clutching my hand and stepping off the train, before she raised her head. _What's going on?_

I shook my head in answer to her question before turning and helping Ginny and Hermione down as well. I didn't want to answer out loud lest Neville hear me. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news; well, at least not this news. That was now his foster parents' duty, not mine.

"Why don't you girls go with Harry and Jasper to get the bags? I'll stay here with Neville," I whispered to Hermione, Ginny, and Isa. The three of them, plus Harry, looked up at me, over to Jasper, then back to Neville.

 _Oh, this isn't going to be good,_ Isa thought. "Of course, Teddy. We'll meet you at the cars?"

"I'll grab my bags and head off to find Mum and Dad after I find Fred and George." Ginny chuckled.

"Your parents are over there." Jasper pointed. "We'll drop you off on the way past."

"Thank you," Ginny replied.

Emmett and I watched as each of our family and friends gave Neville either a hug, hand squeeze, or a pat on the shoulder before they walked off toward the luggage carriage. We realized we were standing in front of the door to the carriage so we moved out of the way and over to a section that had emptied when the parents surged forward to meet their children.

"She's not here, is she, Emmett?" Neville asked quietly, looking at the floor in front of him.

Emmett reached out and gently placed his hand on Neville's shoulder. He waited until Neville looked up at him "I'm sorry, Neville, but no, she's not. After the case was heard at the Ministry for Magic, we only heard from her once, and that was when she sent a case of your clothes to us."

Neville's eyes flared with anger. His face turned red, and his hands curled into fists. "That's it? That's all she sent?" he seethed. I had only seen Neville mad like this one other time, and that was at Ron. "What about all the stuff from my room? Stuff in the attic that was my parents?"

Emmett's eyes flew to mine. His mind was just as angry as Neville's was. I was well aware that I was the only one in my family who had been able to preserve the things from my human life. Hell, Alice didn't remember her human life—or anything about her family—at all. But a living relative keeping personal stuff from her grandchild was that much worse.

Emmett slowly turned back to the seething young man in front of us and carefully chose his words before he spoke out loud. "Neville, I promise you that we'll go over to your gran's house this summer and get whatever you want. But for now, let's go home and get you settled, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Do we need to get our bags?"

I shook my head. "Jasper managed to get ours loaded on a trolley. They've headed out to the cars." I reached out and patted his shoulder before I led him through the station. "We'll sort it all out."

Neville nodded, slipping in behind me. "Thanks, guys. That means a lot."

"Family forever, Neville. Family forever," I said to him over my shoulder and smiled. It seemed the motto we'd given Harry would become one among all of us, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Family should be forever. Regardless of how long any of us lived.

~*~UHS~*~

As usual, the first couple days of summer break were quiet. Catching up on sleep, running through the forest around our property, and just settling back into the routine of no routine. Even though things had changed this time around. Alice and Hermione would spend their evenings planning their "Yay, no Voldemort!" party, and Neville was around right from the beginning. But the biggest difference was the fact that Emmett and Rose weren't in the house anymore. Although, really, the only time that was different was at night.

And that's where we were headed today, to take a gander at the house Emmett and Rose had built. To say we were excited was an understatement. Emmett had been willing to show us the first couple days, but Rose had wanted to be home to show off something she was intensely proud of. It had taken a lot of time, and effort, to get it right, but she couldn't be happier with how it turned out. In fact, I think, this house is the one she was the most proud of.

"Have you seen any of this in their thoughts?" Isa asked as she skipped along beside me.

I chuckled at her excitement, and then laughed harder when Hermione looked up at me with the same expression. "I have successfully managed to block any thoughts of what their house looks like. I wanted to be just as surprised as the rest of you."

Hermione's mouth had dropped open at my statement but snapped closed to ask the question I was expecting. "How did you manage that?"

"It's not that hard when the people around you are focused on something else. Emmett's had the animals out in the yard, including Buckbeak, and Neville has had other things on his mind. When it's like that, it's easier to block anything you don't want to hear."

Isa continued to skip across the yard, and then into the forest that separated our two houses; they were close, but not close enough that we could see each other. "Maybe we need to think of a way for you to block thoughts out completely when we're home. Apart from my lamp. I wonder if I can make you a personal thought shield …" She trailed off, diving into her thoughts.

"Does she do that often?" Hermione giggled as she too skipped past me.

"Trail off when she has a thought?" Hermione nodded to my question. "Oh, yeah. When her brain starts working like that, she forgets everything else around her." I laughed. "Including me!"

"Do not!" drifted our way from in front of us. "Everything I do centers around you, Teddy, and don't you forget it."

"Yes, dear!" I called back, making Hermione laugh again. But that was when we stepped through the trees and into what would be Emmett and Rose's backyard. "Wow. This looks awesome."

What Emmett and Rose had managed to create was absolutely beautiful. Instead of the rock that country homes were known for in this part of England, they'd had it made from the trees they'd had to clear from the plot. By doing this, it made the house seem like it had grown right out of the forest. What also helped, thanks to some magical help, was they'd had some moss and vines grow over the exterior. Their house was larger than I thought it would be, but when I thought about it, it made sense. To be able to make sure there were areas for magical use, the house needed to have more rooms.

"Welcome to Casa De McCarty!" Emmett bellowed from the back verandah. "What do you think so far?"

"I love it!" Isa called back, running up and giving him a hug, then Rose too when she stepped out of the back door.

"I can't wait to see more of it," I said, shaking Emmett's hand and pulling Rose into a hug before handing her over to Hermione.

"Then let's go round to the front, and you can take it in in all its splendor." Emmett led us around the side of the stunning log home that they'd built. There were wide-open windows—one flat, one bay—around the side that he'd led us before we walked past an open patio section with another verandah that was in front of the front door. They'd had beautiful slate tiles placed on the roof that had a circular short tower that took pride of place. Along the front was a peaked roof and about four more windows along the front side before it joined onto the garage.

"Emmett, Rose, this place is stunning," I said in awe. "You've really outdone yourselves, and we haven't even stepped inside yet."

Hermione and Isa were nodding along with me, and when I turned to Rose, it looked as though she might have been blushing—if she had been able to.

"Thank you, Edward. Did you guys want to come inside and see?"

This time, we all nodded and followed them, weaving through the patio furniture, which was handmade out of the same wood the house was made from, before we approached the front door. Well, maybe that wasn't completely accurate; they had two doors with glass panels and then another glass panel was on either side. But that wasn't what made these doors so spectacular.

"That's so pretty," Isa whispered, reaching out to touch the centerpiece of the two glass doors.

Emmett and Rose had had a specialty set of doors made, or conjured, depending on what they had actually done—or maybe Emmett had made them himself—to depict a woodland scene that spread over the doors and the outside panels of glass. There was a large oak tree, which was the centerpiece Isa was touching, that spread out across all four panels of glass with beautiful, colorful leaves attached to the branches. Along the bottom of the panels were layers and tufts of grass to make the forest bed, and the last piece was a large unicorn on the right hand side that was eating the grass under the tree.

Emmett beamed with pride under the praise the girls were heaping on him, showing that it was, in fact he who made the doors.

Now, one would think, with the way Rose loves up-and-coming fashion, that their house would be the pinnacle of fashionable interior. But you'd be wrong. Sure, it was beautiful and sooo not what I had expected. The expectation was that the walls would be the logs, the stairs would also be wood, and you'd be right, the same with the stone fireplace, but what I hadn't expected was that a lot of the furniture was made of wood as well.

Rose was notorious for having her big, comfy leather couches, and they were there, but everything else—coffee table, side tables, TV unit—were all made of wood. Not necessarily the same wood of the house but all matching pieces. We were all in awe of the surroundings. Rose and Emmett had totally outdone anything they'd ever built before.

"Congratulations, guys, this place is astonishing." It was then that I frowned as I took a look around the open-plan space. "But this isn't big enough to be all of the house."

"You're right, Edward," Rose agreed. "Thank you for the compliments, but you're right; it isn't all of the house. Though you'd never know that from the front; the only reason you do is because you guys came from the back. But if you follow me …"

Isa looked around in awe as we made our way around the open floor and toward a tapestry that was along the wall under the stairs.

 _What kind of house is this?_ I heard Isa think. _I've never seen anything like this before. It's very beautiful but so different than what I'm used to._

"This, my beautiful girl, is what we refer to as a log cabin." Hermione, Emmett, and Rose stopped in front of the tapestry that depicted another woodland scene; in this one though, the unicorn was placed front and center. Relaxing on the forest floor while other woodland creatures moved around it. "They were a huge part of the American landscape back before the newer, more modern, ways of building a house were used. In fact, this type of house has come back into style recently. They're more geared for the country living than for the inner city."

"So this is made from the trees?"

Emmett bobbed down in front of her. "When Rose and I started talking about building our house, we both decided that we liked the look of a log cabin, and when we picked the spot we wanted to build, we realized there were a lot of trees we could use. That sold us, so we built the one house we always wanted."

"Then it's good you got what you wanted." Isa nodded. "It's stunning, and I love it."

"Me too." Emmett reached out and tickled Isa, causing her to giggle, before he stood and turned back to the tapestry. "Sirius and James have been really helpful in getting this place set up so we could have both muggle"—Emmett pointed around the rooms behind us—"and of course magical power. Zinnia."

Isa, Hermione, and I looked at him strangely when he said Cortesia's daughter's name, which caused him to chuckle at us. Then our mouths dropped open when the unicorn tapestry started to roll up from the bottom until there was another door in front of us, which led to a hallway. Emmett and Rose laughed out loud at us before they walked through the door; of course, we followed. What I noticed when we walked through the door was the box that had been placed there. It seemed that Emmett and Rose wanted there to be no accidents on the muggle side of the house, and the wands needed to be stored, exactly like Esme did at school. It was a good idea.

"We thought it might be best to have a password, which would reveal the door. And we figured we'd have to make it something that wasn't normal or regular, so we used something that nobody would know, except us," Rose murmured as we made our way to the end of the hall, turned the corner, and stopped dead at another lounge and kitchen, which had been built onto the back of the original kitchen. This entrance came out under the other set of stairs leading to the bedrooms above. These, though, were catered to other beings who were capable of magic, like Neville, who was sitting on the couch, reading the Daily Prophet. They were similar in décor to home, Swan Manor, or Hogwarts. "We spoke to Cortesia, and she agreed that we could use her daughter's name as our password. Only those in our circle will know about all of this."

"Hey, guys! Good to see you," Neville called as he waved.

Hermione and Isa laughed and joined him on the couch, talking about the house with him, getting his opinion while I walked back with Emmett and Rose to the muggle side of the house.

"You two have really outdone yourselves. I love, _love_ Swan Manor, but this place suits you completely." I pointed to the ceiling. "How many bedrooms have you got up there?"

Emmett and I sat on the couches while Rose wandered off into the kitchen to start lunch. Emmett was so proud of her. Since they'd decided to foster Neville and more children in the future, she thought she'd better learn how to cook. Granted, she and Emmett needed feeding as well, and that was a big part of it. They could always come and eat with us, but Rose felt it was time to learn how to become the housewife she always wanted to be. That had been her homework for this year, and Rose had become quite good at it. Rose was really proud of herself, if what I was hearing from her was correct.

"We love it." Emmett sighed. "There're four bedrooms up there, two magical and two muggle. The master is on the muggle side of the house while Neville took one of the magical ones. I can't wait to go see his grandmother, Edward. She really sent him nothing. His room is so sparse because he has none of the things he decorated with."

It was my turn to sigh and shake my head. "We'll go soon. I just want to give Neville some time to get used to this."

"Oh, I get that. And I think he needs his things to be completely settled, and until then, he'll exist in some sort of limbo." Emmett scrubbed his face when he sat up. "I also think it's best if we take more than just you, me, and Neville. Maybe Jasper and Carlisle too, especially Carlisle."

"You really think we're going to need the 'parent' there?"

Rose came over and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Emmett. "I think it might be the best idea. I honestly think that having Carlisle there might stop her from being too vocal. To her, Emmett is the one who has taken her 'Chosen One', and you're just a school friend. Jasper might garner respect because he's a teacher, but Carlisle? He'll be the one she won't want to offend."

"Ugh," I groaned as I sat and thought about it because Rose might be right. I grumbled to myself about having to have a conversation with Carlisle. I'd managed to avoid him since coming home from school, except at dinnertime, and even then, I was as civil as I could be. "Do we really have to?" I asked out loud, not expecting an answer and not getting one either. I had a feeling that having Carlisle there wouldn't change her mind about anything. Granny Longbottom was just that kind of person. "Fine." I sighed. "We'll talk to Carlisle soon. You might be right."

"Good." Rose stood. "Are you three going to stay for lunch?"

I smiled at her. She would make a brilliant mother; Neville was going to benefit from having her in his life. "Sure, Rose, that sounds great."

"Excellent. Wanna watch a game with me? We managed to get pay TV from all over the world, including home." Emmett reached forward and turned the set on.

I laughed. "It's not like you're giving me a choice." I settled back into the chair I was in when a bell rang out through the house. "What was that?"

"That's our way of letting those in the magical part of the house know that lunch is ready for those wanting to come and get it." Emmett smirked. "Sometimes, the easiest solution is the best."

I laughed again as I got up from my chair and gathered some lunch. I'd just taken my seat when Isa, Hermione, and Neville burst through the door behind the tapestry. They were laughing and joking around until Isa spun to face me, only to stop short at the television, causing Hermione and Neville to crash into the back of her.

"What's this?" Isa squealed before launching herself onto my lap. I had to quickly move my lunch or we both would have ended up with it all over us. "I thought you said you didn't have moving pictures in your world?" Isa tilted her head. "And what are they doing?"

"Don't you remember us having one of these in the house at Forks?" I pointed to the TV.

"Yeah. But you didn't turn it on when I was there. Plus, it didn't last long after I got there thanks to what happened with Alice." Isa wrinkled her nose remembering her blowing up at Alice and destroying everything in the family room.

Rose must have realized that Isa wouldn't move from my lap, even to get her lunch, now that she was fascinated with something else; so Rose brought it over to her. Isa beamed up at her. "Thank you, Rose. So, is this like the pictures in this world? Or is it something else? And you haven't told me what they're doing!"

Everyone else chuckled at her questions and enthusiasm. Since Neville had been here for a few days, he'd had the TV explained to him, and though he liked it, he liked his magical life better. But he was enjoying seeing Isa's first time watching one.

"Eat your lunch, and I'll explain." I waited until she'd taken her first bite before I launched into the history of TV. "Does that make sense?"

Isa nodded. "Not dissimilar to our moving pictures or paintings then?" I agreed with her. "But different in the fact that a lot of things on TV are pretend, for entertainment?"

"That's right. We'll have to show you all about it over the summer. In answer to your other question, what we're watching right now is a sport from the American Muggle world called football. Emmett knows just about everything, so he can explain it to you."

"So this is a sport? Like quidditch here?" Isa turned to watch a play being made.

"Right."

"No flying?"

We all chuckled, but Emmett answered her. "No, Bella. Muggles can't fly, except in planes, remember?"

"I remember. This just seems so much more … boring." I chuckled at the shock on Emmett's face. "Are there other things to watch? Or can you only watch one thing at a time?"

"There's more than one channel—that's what they're called—accessible on the TV, but you can only watch one at a time. See that thing there that Emmett's holding?" I pointed over to Emmett, who waved the remote around. "That's the remote control, and you use it to change the channels."

For the next while, we explained different shows, different channels, and even a movie or two to Isa, who soaked it all up like a sponge. At least until she grew bored of sitting around. That was when we decided to go home.

"We'll see you in a couple days for the party, right, guys?" Hermione asked. She was so excited; this was the first party she'd even had the chance to plan, let alone maybe enjoy.

Rose leaned down and kissed her head with sisterly affection. "We'll be there. We promise."

"Bye!" The three of us waved as we walked away. It had been a good way to spend the day. We'd had a lot of fun, and I'm sure Isa would want to learn about more muggle technology, so we'd probably spend more time there over the summer.

~*~UHS~*~

A few days later, the back yard was decorated, the food was prepared, and the party was in full swing. All of our family and friends were here, their families, and they were having a ball. I chuckled to myself at my unintended pun.

I'd been skeptical about having a party to celebrate the fact that we hadn't gone up against Voldemort this year, but I could see just how freeing it was for some of us, Harry especially. He had the knowledge that he could have had to face off against Voldemort our first two years, but thanks to us knowing beforehand, we were able to give him a couple more years of peace to grow up. I wasn't sure how much longer we'd be able to do that though; if he was to do what I think he had to do, he'd have to face some of his fears sooner than later.

I looked around and found Isa with Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, laughing and carrying on while they danced and generally making fools of themselves. I couldn't help but laugh at the way they were dancing. From what I could tell, they were having a competition to see who could do the most ridiculous dance movements. I was actually surprised that Emmett wasn't joining them; it was usually the kind of thing he lived for.

I found him though, over with Carlisle. They were finalizing plans for when to visit Neville's gran. I'd begrudgingly sat down with Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle this morning to talk to them about the visit we wanted to make. For the most part, I let Emmett do the talking. Carlisle and Jasper listened intently to what we had to say and agreed that having them there might be a good thing, even if it was only moral support for Neville.

Rose was over with Molly and Esme, talking about food and cooking. She wanted to move on to baking next, and regardless of the fact that Molly used magic, a lot of the ingredients were the same. Everyone else was just enjoying themselves. Chatting, laughing, eating, and drinking.

I was interrupted from the thoughts when Jasper plonked down next to me. "Shouldn't you be having fun?"

I smiled over at him. "I am having fun. I'm relaxing." I laughed. "After the last however many years, being me, brooding, whatever, and the past few years at Hogwarts, just sitting, watching, and laughing with everyone else is fun."

"This is true. You feel much lighter than before. Being in among this is good for you." Jasper slouched back in his chair. "And I'm sure having that smart little cookie in your life helps a lot too." He pointed at Isa and her friends, then laughed when Alice went over to join them. "You know, I've been thinking that your old, morose thoughts and feelings were linked to that monstrous obscurial Newt pulled out of you. The peace you radiate now is such a joy to feel."

I laughed at Jasper's rambling. "Oh, yeah. Not being alone, being part of a pair, is a huge load off me. Even if I never thought I would have it. But you're right about the feelings the obscurial brought out in me. I don't have them anymore, even when I think about what I did in the past." I paused. "I was happy before, with that thing inside me, but I feel almost like I could fly without my broom now with the weight gone. I am now as I always should have been."

"But, maybe, it was that that brought Isa and the others to you. You saved her, but in return, by bringing you here, she saved you."

I smiled, winking over at my girl when she turned to smile at me. "Of that, Jasper, I have no doubts."

The girls were really hamming it up now, and that was pulling others in. Emmett went first, then the twins, Neville and Harry not long after. The more who joined, the funnier their dance moves became. What I loved, though, was that this was one area where the muggles and wizards were similar. Dancing, it seemed, was universal.

"Come on, Teddy! Join us!" Isa yelled out across the back yard.

Jasper laughed as I stood immediately. "And who could ever say no to that!"

"Exactly. I don't mind; now come on, you too!" I pulled Jasper's arm and dragged him over as well, even if he was only playfully protesting.

It didn't take long to have just about everyone out there on the dance floor Emmett had built—or put together—being absolutely stupid. It was the most fun I'd had in a while, and from the looks of the faces around me, it was a shared sentiment. Eventually, we collapsed on the floor in fits of giggles and laughter.

"I declare Fred and George the winners!" Harry called out from his prone position on the ground. "I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life."

"I second that," Hermione said breathlessly.

Isa giggled. "Oh, I don't know. Emmett was pretty hilarious."

I laughed at the thoughts in her head. "Watching Emmett do any moves like that is always hilarious, Isa."

"Hey!" Emmett laughed. "No, you're right. I really can't do some of those moves without massive hilarity."

"All right, you lot." Esme laughed from above us. She'd wandered over when we'd collapsed on the floor. "How about you all get up from the floor and have something to drink and eat, hmm?"

"Okay, Ma," Jasper said as he stood before helping Alice and Hermione off the floor. Everyone else started getting up and taking seats after getting a drink and something to eat.

We were all quiet for a bit, some of us getting our breaths back, others calming down, the rest just enjoying something cold to drink.

"Um, can I just have your attention please?" Neville asked as he stood up. I read his mind, and my eyebrows shot up. This was going to be good. "I … um … I just wanted to say thank you. My home life was never great. My grandmother pushed me to be something I never thought I was, or never thought I could be, but these last few years you guys have helped me to become something I like. I can't thank you enough for that." Neville looked at the five of us, his friends, lifting his cup in our direction.

"I want to thank Emmett and Rose for getting me out from under my grandmother, and I won't be able to thank you enough when we go to get my stuff from her, either. I feel more loved here, by what my grandmother would call creatures, than I have ever felt living under her roof, by my own flesh and blood.

"Something Edward said to me not too long ago stuck with me. So, in saying that, you might be born into a family by blood, but true family is the one you choose. I want you to know that I choose you as my family. And family is forever." Neville held his cup in the air. "A toast to Family forever."

I smiled as everyone held their cups in the air and said, as one, "Family forever!"

~*~UHS~*~

* * *

 **Family forever! See you in the group when I reveal the cover of the next book!**

 **Thank you for reading, let me know what you think.**


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